Category: Insurance
It’s insurance nerd day! So our insurance nerd, Craig Bryce, takes a look at what’s adding value in the protection industry.
81% of Brits have no income protection in place! According to the latest State of the protection Nation report from Royal London, Britain is incredibly underprepared in the event of long-term sickness, accident or ill health.
But, as you are probably aware, income protection is now much more than just income protection. It can actually help prevent long-term sickness or injury, as well as get people back to work quicker should they have had time off. Many policies have additional benefits that people may be unaware of, and it’s our job to make them aware.
If someone’s ill but it’s not serious enough to stop them working, or someone has a sore back but can’t afford the physio, or even if someone’s had time off work but needs career counselling some income protection providers can help. Additional benefits of income protection include, among other things, physiotherapy and doctor’s appointments.
Some providers offer these benefits at any point in the policy lifetime. This means if someone is suffering from an injury or illness – that might not be severe enough for a claim – they would still be able to benefit. If someone needs physio or a doctor’s appointment to prevent their condition worsening, that’s okay, they’re covered.
This could ensure an injury or illness doesn’t progress into something severe enough to need time off work. And in a time where Brits are finding it increasingly difficult to get an appointment with the GP, these additional benefits are adding real value.
Join our award-winning Mortgage Network as an appointed representative, or become a member of our Mortgage Club, to start benefiting from our fantastic range of comprehensive services and support. Call the Broker Support Team on 0345 130 7446 (opt 1) to find out more.
National Account Manager for Protection, Craig Bryce, talks about the importance of life insurance for dads in the run up to Father’s Day.
Father’s Day is just around the corner. However, 58% of men in the UK with dependent children have no life insurance. A fifth have also admitted their household would not be financially stable without the main income, new research from Scottish Widows suggests.
Despite a fifth of fathers admitting their households would not survive financially if the worst were to happen to them, only a mere 18% have a critical illness policy. 16% said they could only pay for their bills for a minimum of three months and more than two-fifths said they would have to dip into their savings. 17% admitted their savings would last a maximum of three months and 12% said they have no savings at all. Scary!
The same research also stated that 42% of dads do not have the protection of a will, power of attorney, guardianship or trust arrangement in place for their families despite two thirds of fathers being the main bread winners. These figures really astonish me and I think that more has to be done by the industry to help fathers protect their families. As mortgage and insurance brokers it is our duty to start these conversations.
Many fathers don’t consider life insurance as a necessity and they don’t view critical illness insurance as a financial priority – they just don’t think they need it until it’s too late. Protection and insurance have a greater value than anything fiscal though. It can give long term peace of mind and security for loved ones. That is priceless.
Clients often assume that the worst won’t happen to them and it doesn’t bear thinking about. But the low risk of death also generally means lower cost insurance for your clients. That makes peace of mind worth paying for.
So this Father’s Day, let’s get dads in the UK talking about their life insurance options and help them to further protect their families.
Join our award-winning Mortgage Network as an appointed representative, or become a member of our Mortgage Club, to start benefiting from our fantastic range of comprehensive services and support. Call the Broker Support Team on 0345 130 7446 (opt 1) to find out more.
The figures are according to a sample survey of 5,022 UK adults – 15.17% of whom were dads. If spread across the entire population amounts to approximately 4.5 million fathers without cover.
National Account Manager for Protection Craig Bryce looks at why the latest figures on child bereavement has put more emphasis on the importance of life cover to support families during a difficult time.
When a child loses a parent it can be a lonely time and difficult to deal with emotionally. The death of a parent can often have a painful impact and children need plenty of support, especially from close family and friends.
It goes without saying that the remaining family will value the relief that financial cover brings, to help cushion the blow and deal with tragic circumstances. In many cases the death can be very sudden, leaving no room for worries about filling the hole left by the loss of a major household income.
Child bereavement is more common than people think
A child is left bereaved more often than you may assume. The latest figures show that one in 29 children of school age have been bereaved of a parent or sibling, that’s the equivalent of a child in every classroom. In fact, a parent of a child under 18 dies every 22 minutes in the UK, around 23,600 every year.
Children do not always get the full support they need during this time, especially as the rest of the family are working on coping with the loss. Financial support during this time can be crucial to give the family the breathing space needed to grieve properly and support each other, especially when a child is involved.
Life insurance can be peace of mind worth paying for
The death of a parent is called a worst case scenario for a reason. It does not bear thinking about and many clients like to assume it won’t happen to their child. But the low risk of death also means a generally lower cost for your clients when compared to other types of cover. This makes it a peace of mind worth paying for.
Although life cover is easy to understand, it is still important for clients to consider other factors when taking out their policy. Your clients will need the advice and guidance of their adviser, to ensure they have the right type of cover for them and their circumstances.
Join our award-winning Mortgage Network as an appointed representative, or become a member of our Mortgage Club, to start benefiting from our fantastic range of comprehensive services and support. Call the Broker Support Team on 0345 130 7446 (opt 1) to find out more.
National Account Manager for Protection Craig Bryce looks at how much of a priority protection takes in client conversations, and how providers are helping advisers change the record.
When speaking at a round table event last year, some advisers were shocked to hear that I had known advisers to refuse to do a client’s mortgage unless they took out protection. It seems the priority that advisers give to protection sales can vary, to say the least.
This was also covered in the press recently, which suggests this is more prevalent an issue than people might think. I would not suggest that refusing a client because they have no protection should always be the case, but as National Account Manager for Protection, I like that the idea at least makes us think about the importance of cover when taking out a mortgage.
Protection priorities
When a lender offers a mortgage to a client, they do so on the basis that the client has taken out buildings insurance to cover the house should anything happen to it. But what about the means to pay the mortgage, should this not take as much precedence?
The main thing to protect against is anything that would prevent the borrower from making the regular payments, such as accident, sickness, unemployment, or death. There are protection options for all of these, yet statistics show clients are more likely to protect against the unlikeliest events, such as death.
Changing the protection record
A great way to get people thinking about insuring themselves for more than death, is to talk about how we take out protection for our home. As an example, it is common to use boiler cover, to ensure something so important is fixed quickly.
But what if we had a machine in our home that earned us enough money to pay our mortgage and bills? Would we insure it? The reality is yes we would, and yet clients hesitate and look for reasons not to protect their income and the ability to pay the mortgage.
Keeping their protection options open
In my experience, there has never been a better time in the protection market for product options and additional benefits. Providers have really made some incredible enhancements to their proposition in the past few years, which makes selling protection to clients much easier for advisers.
As National Account Manager for Protection, I sit down with advisers and go through their sales process, to ensure they are doing what they can to break down client objections and improve their sales where possible.
Join our award-winning Mortgage Network as an appointed representative, or become a member of our Mortgage Club, to start benefiting from our fantastic range of comprehensive services and support. Call the Broker Support Team on 0345 130 7446 (opt 1) to find out more.
National Account Manager for Protection Craig Bryce looks at the lessons that can be learnt from the recent disaster that left an innovative eco home and its owners devastated in an instant
A recent story regarding an eco-friendly house featured on Grand Designs has for me put the focus back on the importance of general insurance such as building and contents cover.
The three-bedroom eco home, which was dubbed the “cheapest house ever built in the western hemisphere”, was mostly destroyed on New Year’s Day by what was believed to be an electrical fire, leaving the owners heartbroken after years of hard work put into the project.
The worst part was the unlucky owners had spent six years building their home, which makes the devastation even more palpable. Known as The Undercroft, the building cost a mere £27,000 to construct, making use of reclaimed materials in the land around it to create sheep’s wool wall insulation and felled trees as building materials.
The Dales, who owned the innovative house, said that they had been “making a home they know will last”. They started building their home with only £500 in 2012, and moved in to the home in October 2013, finishing the project in 2014.
That the home burnt down just a short time after is I think a stark reminder that the thing least expected can happen. This can be an expensive lesson to learn if suitable cover is not in place. Fortunately, there are types of self-build insurance that can help you protect your clients as they set out to build their own home.
The risk may seem worth taking when everything is ticking over nicely, but regret comes too late if the worst was to happen. The right cover can ensure your client has the peace of mind of knowing that if this was to happen, they are protected.
Join our award-winning Mortgage Network as an appointed representative, or become a member of our Mortgage Club, to start benefiting from our fantastic range of comprehensive services and support. Call the Broker Support Team on 0345 130 7446 (opt 1) to find out more.
National Account Manager for Protection Craig Bryce examines why more millennials don’t choose life cover, and why this makes it even more important to have the protection conversation
I read a recent study of millennial parents which revealed some startling statistics and attitudes towards life cover. It showed that three quarters of young parents have no life insurance in place to cover them should the worst happen. I was also surprised to hear that 67% said that they simply did not have time to go through their options.
Looking at these figures, I think it is clear more needs to be done by the industry to help young people protect themselves against worst case scenarios.
So why don’t more millennial parents have it?
It seems that generally younger parents will always feel that life insurance is less of a priority than older generations, simply because they are less likely to die anytime soon. The survey revealed that millennials would rather spend their funds on new technology and experiences, than on insurance against future events.
But I wasn’t surprised to hear that many millennials assumed that life insurance was simply too expensive to consider, with 80% prioritising other financial needs, such as living expenses, recreational expenses, and saving money for the future. The cost of life cover is a common misconception among the public and one that has prevailed across the generations.
But life stages, such as buying a house, are being reached much later by millennials. This means that many young parents are left vulnerable while renting, without having had the life insurance conversation with a mortgage adviser.
Why is life cover still so important for millennials?
As you will know, one of the main reasons millennials should consider life insurance is their age. Life insurance is often cheaper when they are younger, which means putting it off only increases the cost, and taking advantage now will very likely save them money on their premiums.
If your millennial clients have dependents and people that rely on them, you can help them consider what would happen if their income was suddenly taken out of the picture. Would they be able to live comfortably? Would they have the same lifestyle? These are just some of the questions that form an important part of helping more millennials understand the importance of life cover.
If you would like to know more about how to join our award-winning Mortgage Network as an appointed representative or becoming a member of our Mortgage Club, call our Broker Support Team on 0845 130 7446, option 1.
National Account Manager for Protection Craig Bryce explains why improving your protection process is a New Year’s resolution worth sticking to…
After a strong year for protection, I am looking forward to building on this in 2018 by helping even more advisers through tailored guidance and support. But what makes a really effective protection process, and how do you successfully embed one? The exact answer to this can be different for each firm, but here are a few ideas that I find can really help boost protection sales…
Make it a mortgage and protection conversation
It is key that the client knows early on that protection will form an important part of the mortgage process. This makes it clear that protecting their finances is seen as an essential part of the conversation.
Helping them allocate a percentage of their budget to protection early can really help embed the idea. This makes protection seem less an afterthought or selling tool, and more part of the overall advice.
Set up regular client reviews
Turning down protection is not uncommon during the mortgage process, as clients are often focussed on their finances and want to keep costs down. This is why catching up with clients regularly helps ensure they have more than one opportunity to receive protection advice.
Some types of protection may not initially have been the right fit for the client’s circumstances. But this can change quickly, which makes reviews important to ensure they are always looked after.
Be armed with the right answers
There are many ways to tackle consumer objections and to help illustrate the importance of protection. Cancer survival rates, the likelihood of prolonged work absences, and showing the reliability of provider pay outs can really help debunk prevailing myths.
Misinformation still sticks to the industry and it is always surprising how many assumptions are made about employer cover and state support. Let the clients realise the problem of not being protected against worst case scenarios, and allow the cover to become the solution.
Become an expert
One of the biggest barriers to selling protection is confidence. Knowing how products work and which ones to recommend your client is a challenge in itself. Understanding how protection suits different lifestyles and circumstances ensures the right products are recommended.
To support advisers, we deliver a range of protection training events throughout the year. Our adviser website also has webinar presentations from providers, and sales aids you can order online.
Tell the right stories
Using real life protection stories can be an effective tool to help clients understand the impact a lack of cover can have on their lives. Work done by charity-led campaigns such as Seven Families, also helps advisers illustrate exactly what can happen when a worst case scenario arises.
Good news stories are effective as well. Showing examples of how clients have made use of added-value benefits is one idea, as well as testimonials from clients that have been relieved to know they had protection in place when they needed it.
Talk about the benefits
Being up to date on all the benefits that providers offer as part of their policy is a great way to get clients excited about protection. These can include medical and legal advice, bereavement and counselling support, and incentives and rewards.
Explaining how these extras work is a great way of bringing products to life. Sending reminders to clients about the benefits of their policy is another way of keeping them regularly informed.
Utilise your staff
Whether it be paraplanners, trainee advisers or administration staff, there are many ways you can delegate non-advisory responsibilities to your team. I have seen firms that get this right see significant improvements in their protection sales.
Although advising and fact-finding with clients is not allowed by non-qualified staff, there are ways your team can help free up time to spend with clients. This includes chasing and preparing quotes, handling queries, research, pre-underwriting support, and chasing medical information.
Adviser support!
We have several fantastic services to support adviser protection sales. This includes our Protection Helpdesk, who deliver guidance on protection terms, and marketing materials and datasheets to help educate and prepare clients.
Join our award-winning Mortgage Network as an appointed representative, or become a member of our Mortgage Club, to start benefiting from our fantastic range of comprehensive services and support. Call the Broker Support Team on 0845 130 7446 (opt 1) to find out more.
Head of Sales and Marketing Sharon Mawby caught up with appointed representative Protection Matters, as they round up their first year as a trustworthy protection business referral service for busy brokers.
It has been a full year since Protection Matters were introduced as a referral service for advisers. Since then, Adam Perry and the team at Protection Matters have built partnerships with several adviser firms with the help of National Account Manager for Protection Craig Bryce. This has helped protect clients and provides an efficient and rewarding protection referral process for busy advisers.
This seemed the ideal time to catch up with Adam, look back at the last 12 months, and see how they have helped advisers through strong business partnerships with the client at the centre.
Just in case advisers missed it the first time, can you quickly explain how you can help them with their protection sales?
“It’s important to remember we are not a sales team, we are not trying to sell advisers anything. We only want to support them should they need a little help covering their client’s protection needs.
“All advisers naturally feel some reluctance when thinking about referring protection business. But once they meet with us we always find those objections and hesitations go away once they realise how easy, efficient, supportive and rewarding the partnership can be for them.
“In terms of the process, once terms have been agreed and sent back, we arrange a meeting as soon as possible to iron out any details and go over any issues they may have. We are very flexible and always make sure the process is smooth for them, by tailoring it to suit their business.
“We always have regular reviews to ensure we are continuing to help wherever possible. We work closely with National Account Manager for Protection Craig Bryce, as he helps answer any initial queries and acts as a recognisable buffer for any concerns.”
How do you work through these concerns with advisers?
“When considering whether to refer protection, advisers often ask: Will it damage my client relationship? Will the standard of advice be high enough? Will I lose income? It is so pleasing to see initial concerns fade away as soon as they see the standard of advice and how effective and rewarding the referral service is.
“After we have set things up they quickly see how well we look after their client and the return of income they get through by simply referring business. Some advisers have actually found that they have increased their income, in some cases more than they could have done on their own.
“For some advisers it is about more than not having time to write protection. It’s also about having the confidence to write it every day and with every client. Knowing they can refer their clients to us means they feel confident enough to bring it up early on in the client conversation. They can introduce the subject with the client straight away as they know they can hand it over to us.”
Do you have an example of how you have built partnerships with advisers?
“One of the advisers we have worked very closely with is Appointed Representative Kevin Hannan of Right Advice Mortgage Consultancy. After similar initial concerns, Kevin is now completely on board with the protection referral service and has been a model business partner in terms of making the process as smooth as possible.
“Because Kevin prepares his clients early for the referral process, they are already waiting for our call when we contact them. The client is always enthusiastic about their cover, as Kevin has already talked about the importance of protection early on in his own process. He is finding his income from referring is more than worth the time it takes to arrange a good system of referral with us.
“Kevin is just one example. We are currently working with over twice the number of advisers since we last appeared in Insight in April, which shows how much our service has grown in just the last few months.
“We now have a few “regulars” who have now fully integrated the referral process into their own client meetings. We often find the process becomes continuously quicker and smoother as we refine it, which means less time spent on referring as we go!”
How have you worked with National Account Manager for Protection Craig Bryce over the last year?
“Craig has really helped us develop a much more proactive approach, to ensure that the partnership continues after the first few referrals. Craig brings it up whenever he is with advisers and helps organise regular reviews. He also points out any dips in protection sales that we can help with.
“After all, advisers are working with us predominately because they are very busy, which puts the onus on us to ensure the process works as efficiently as possible to reduce the amount of resource they spend on it.
“Craig also encourages protection reviews with clients at key points such as remortgage discussions. By pointing out that this is the ideal time to also review protection needs with the client, he highlights our referral system as an option for advisers that may not be able to find the time.”
Join our award-winning Mortgage Network as an appointed representative, or become a member of our Mortgage Club, to start benefiting from our fantastic range of comprehensive services and support. Call the Broker Support Team on 0845 130 7446 (opt 1) to find out more.
National Account Manager for Protection Craig Bryce looks at the latest news regarding mental health and highlights how you can help your clients stay protected against one of the most common workplace absences in the UK.
Critical Illness Cover and Life Insurance are vital to ensure your client and their family are covered against worst-case scenarios. But what about the most common situations that clients can find themselves in?
This is where income protection comes in. It normally pays up to 60% of their income and protects against long term absence. It serves as daily peace of mind should they need time off work, your client won’t have the added stress of worrying about covering the bills.
How common is absence for mental health?
According to ECIS data, absences for mental health are as common as absences for colds and bugs. This makes mental health now one of the top three reasons for employee absence, with musculoskeletal conditions and general sickness.
The problem doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon either, with a recent NHS report showing that nearly a third of ‘fit for work’ notes issued by GPs are for psychiatric problems. This has now made it the most common reason for ‘fit for work’ notes to be issued, ahead of musculoskeletal diseases.
How can your client cover themselves?
Fortunately, most income protection providers pay out for absence for mental health, which unless they have budget income protection, will pay out for every occasion they are absent from work after the deferred period has elapsed.
It is also important to ensure that should your client be absent from work for mental health problems, they don’t have the added stress and anxiety of not working and not being paid. This can exacerbate the problem itself and extend their absence from work.
What if they already have cover?
A good protection menu plan that covers all the scenarios that might make your client vulnerable to financial shocks is always recommended. After all, serious illness and injury are all too common reasons to be absent long term from work, which will not be covered by Life and Critical Illness cover.
Right now, absences from work for mental health are becoming more long term, with one in five psychiatric ‘fit for work’ notes issued for periods of over 12 weeks. This means that the employer being able to cover your client during the period of absence becomes less likely, which makes income protection even more important.
If you would like to know more about how to join our award-winning Mortgage Network as an appointed representative or becoming a member of our Mortgage Club, call our Broker Support Team on 0845 130 7446, option 1.
National Account Manager for Protection Craig Bryce highlights the importance of staying in touch with clients and providing regular protection reviews
Staying in contact with clients about protection, whether through regular reviews, newsletters, catch-ups or reminders of policy benefits, is a vital part of the advice you deliver. It is important to remember that protection needs can change in the blink of an eye for a client, leaving them vulnerable to financial shocks and worst case scenarios.
Circumstances change quickly
Your clients are unlikely to call you up to announce a new addition to their family, which can leave them needing more cover. Neither are they likely to shout about a new promotion, which may open up their budget to give them the opportunity to improve on their level of protection. That is why staying in contact with your clients regularly will help ensure they have the cover they need and support client retention.
Making annual statements work for you
Royal London, AIG, Scottish Widows and Zurich are some of the protection providers already issuing annual statements to customers, detailing the policies and the level of cover that they hold. Why is this so important? Because using them as a sales aid and following up on these with your client can be a great way to build on the advice you give.
Remind them of benefits
It is worth reminding clients of the added value benefits of their cover, such as Royal London’s Helping Hand or LV’s Doctors Services. Calling them up to talk about their cover may often result in a frantic search at the other end of the phone, as they realise they are not as aware of the benefits as they assumed.
Refreshing the protection conversation
It is a lot to expect of clients to fully grasp the implications of protection the first time around. Cover is often sold during the mortgage meeting, when they already have a lot on their mind. They may also now have a slightly different attitude about the necessity of protection, their budget and what cover they require.
Industry changes
Sometimes there are changes in the world of protection that may affect whether your client’s policy is best for them. For example, Aviva recently merged with Friends Life, which may have changed whether your client is on the most suitable protection plan. Supporting
If you would like to know more about how to join our award-winning Mortgage Network as an appointed representative or becoming a member of our Mortgage Club, call our Broker Support Team on 0845 130 7446, option 1.