Our June Protection Forum brought together leading voices from across the industry to explore how advisers can grow protection conversations within the mortgage process. With Consumer Duty sharpening the focus on good outcomes, it’s never been more important to integrate protection advice into every client journey.
Chaired by Ian McKenna, the panel featured:
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Michelle Lawson, Mortgage Adviser & Director – Lawson Financial
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Tracey Boyd, Mortgage Consultant & Managing Director – Mortgage Hub Expert
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Richard Howells, Group Managing Director – LSL Financial Services
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Lucy Bater, Senior Learning & Development Consultant – Mortgage Advice Bureau
The discussion covered the integration of protection into mortgage advice, client engagement and understanding of income protection, product complexity, and how best practice is evolving under Consumer Duty.
The first half of the session centred particularly on income protection – why it’s often overlooked, what advisers can do to overcome barriers, and how to move the conversation from price to value.
With honest perspectives from both advisers and senior leaders, this forum offers valuable insight for anyone looking to strengthen their protection advice process.
Listen to the full audio below and scroll down for session highlights and key quotes…
“I’m a mortgage and protection adviser across all different things to do with property finance and protection.”
“We’ve streamlined various things and try to get into the psyche of what people are doing and why. But changing people’s attitudes from being premium-based to quality-driven is a huge thing.”
“That doesn’t help when comparison sites and TV ads tell everyone they can get it cheap. That really doesn’t help the cause. We’re not offering the cheapest – we’re offering the best.”
“You can take a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Clients don’t always understand the implications of going for a quick policy online until something goes wrong.”
“We’ve had situations where we’ve almost convinced the kids, and then as soon as they say, “I’ll speak to my parents”, we know which way it’s going to go.”
“I was at a funeral of a good friend last week who died at 52 out of the blue and left two kids. These things happen in real life – we shouldn’t shy away from talking about the reality of death or serious illness.”
“I’m more worried about people protecting their mortgage. I’d rather not earn commission and make sure someone was protected. I’d rather someone wasn’t setting up a GoFundMe or going to the media for support because they didn’t have cover.”
“Someone once proudly told me they went online and took out life insurance without giving any disclosure. They think they’ve got a bargain, but I told them they’re paying for something that probably won’t pay out.”
Click the audio playback below to listen to the full session.
Full session audio
Part 2:
“I’ve been in the industry a long time and also work closely with the Income Protection Task Force as an associate executive.”
“Everything starts with income. They insure their dog, their cat, their car because they have to – but their income, which pays for everything, is last on the list.”
“For me, the biggest hurdle is underwriting. I understand it’s a complex product, but IP is just harder to get on risk… And I get why some advisers don’t write IP.”
“We need more accessible products for people with conditions. Some providers are getting better, like offering discounts if an exclusion is applied – that’s a much easier conversation to have.”
“It would be good if insurers, under Consumer Duty, had to adjust the premium when they remove cover. If you exclude eczema, for example, why not reduce the premium accordingly?”
“I tell clients from the first meeting that I’m a mortgage and protection adviser. I explain protection clearly, talk about affordability using percentages: 30% of income on the mortgage, 30–50% on lifestyle, and 5% should be for protection. Clients respond to that.”
“My little strapline is: I help you get into your home and stay in your home.”
“We did about 231,000 protection policies last year, up 11% from the year before. We’re seeing success where advisers are really getting behind protection.”
“If you look at the cross-cutting rules – avoiding foreseeable harm, helping clients achieve their financial objectives – it all leads to protection being an integral part of the advice journey.”
“We looked at why customers don’t take protection. Three key reasons came up: they think it’s too expensive, they don’t understand it, and they think it won’t happen to them. All of these can be addressed by an adviser.”
“The market issue is that customers still don’t trust the policy will pay out. That’s not something advisers can solve – that’s on us as an industry.”
“What would it take for the industry to guarantee a payout? With more data and better underwriting, could we offer clients total confidence that their policy would pay? That might change the whole conversation.”
“Language is important. Customers don’t understand what “protection” means. Saying “I’ll help you keep your home if something happens” – that gets attention.”
“Protection shouldn’t be an afterthought. It’s up to the adviser to take charge of the journey and make protection as important as the mortgage itself.”
“When someone takes out a mortgage – the biggest debt of their life – it’s usually the only time they’ll talk about protection. That’s why we need mortgage advisers to introduce the topic from the start.”
“Legal & General did a study that showed 20% of people actively want protection, 20% never will, and 60% are unsure. That 60% is where education makes the difference.”
“Advisers sometimes have their own bias – they think a client can’t afford protection because their mortgage payments have gone up. But it’s about having the conversation and laying breadcrumbs throughout the advice process.”
“For example, when a client says they have three months of sick pay, I say: “How will you pay your mortgage after that?” That opens the door naturally.”
“One time I told someone I worked in protection, and they thought I was a bouncer. That really highlighted the need to use clear, simple language when talking to clients.”
This is a great debate. Thank you.. Some great ideas about underwriting. A couple of other observations if I may.
Protecting income is not last on the consumer’s list; it’s too often last on the adviser’s list.
Similarly, clients are not premium driven; assuming affordability, they will invest whatever is necessary as long as they can see enough VALUE and BENEFIT in the solution. The skills is in creating that value and benefit and the truth is that not enough advisers have enough skill.
We can’t expect the horse to drink the water if it isn’t thirsty. Making the horse thirsty enough to NEED to drink the water is also a selling skill and, in my experience, is the biggest issue.