Good and bad news from AMI and a fond farewell
It was another fascinating week in the protection market with the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries launching their annual protection Viewpoint research. The analysis provides the views of 3,000 UK adults or consumers alongside 254 IFA and Mortgage Advisers. This document has, for me, become one of (if not the) most important pieces of consumer research for our industry, and this year’s research is no different.
Within the document there is some good news in that many mortgage advisers believe that Consumer Duty will increase their focus on protection. There is however the same old messages particularly with regard to trust and not just aimed at insurers.
One such stat that particularly caught my attention was that 50% of consumers think that advisers are motivated by commission with only 23% believing they are being recommended the best protection. As many of you know this is an area close to our heart at Protection Guru and something we have built ProtectionGuruPro to specifically help with.
When comparing plans within ProtectionGuruPro we do not major on price. Instead we help advisers start from the point of the best possible product recommendation based on the clients circumstance. If that recommendation is too expensive we enable a “skiing downhill” approach where you can work your way down a quality ranked list until you get to an affordable product. Taking this approach it is very clear that you are working with the client to get them the best possible products and not focused on commission.
The alternative of starting at the cheapest product and working up a list will always feel like you are upselling and dare I say looking to increase commission?
If you would like to either watch a playback of the launch, download the full document or indeed any other collateral from the research click here
Elsewhere on Protection Guru, we started the week by providing light on Trauma Benefits that a few insurers include within their income protection proposition. The piece from Rob Harvey investigates what is covered, by whom and how and well worth understanding.
On Tuesday, we highlighted lung cancer awareness month. Lung cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer deaths in the UK so this piece by Rob Harvey on how lung cancer is covered within Critical Illness plans (including views from our doctors) is really important.
Continuing the theme of raising awareness, the 2nd November signaled stress awareness day. Anyone that recommends income protection plans should know that mental health is cited as one of the main reasons for claims. What you might not know is that stress on it’s own is not regarded as a medical condition and therefore often not covered within income protection plans. This piece from Rob Harvey and our doctors explains the complexities of using stress as a reason for a claim and is a must read for anyone that has ever told their clients that stress would be covered.
On Thursday we turned our attention to Business Protection and immediate cover. Rob Harvey explained what immediate cover is and how it is different to free cover.
In his last piece for Protection Guru, Rob took the opportunity to highlight some of the claim case studies and stories that advisers should read and share with their clients.
Rob now moves on to new pastures and we thank him for his immense effort while working with us. He will be missed but he has a huge future in front of him and we look forward to seeing his future progression and rubbing shoulders with him in his new role.
Have a great week all!
