What happened this week including Underwrite Later
The major announcement in the protection market this week was clearly Royal London’s launch of their Underwrite Later approach. This is designed to help advisers get cover in force as soon as possible, despite the challenges of obtaining medical evidence in the current environment. Every adviser needs to understand how the service works and when it can be used so Adam Higgs analysis Can Royal London’s underwrite later answer advisers medical evidence woes? is probably the most important summary for advisers to read this weekend.
To coincide with this announcement, we launched the Royal London business protection showcase page. This offers an objective, comprehensive analysis of the various features the company can offer business protection customers and where they could improve. This should be an essential guide for advisers wanting to fully understand Royal London’s business protection range. It is also worth looking at Royal London’s main showcase page which we published a few months ago looking at their personal products. Our showcase pages are regularly updated to reflect the latest changes and features from organisations.
Also this week we launched AIG’s showcase page. I would like to congratulate the AIG team for really making full use of this summary across social media. I do think Adam Higgs and the rest of the Protection Guru team have done a great job working to craft such a highly informative page with AIG. It captures a comprehensive summary of key benefits in the AIG products, but it is equally excellent to see an organisingorganisation so actively promote what has been built. As with all our showcase pages this does also call out where the company can improve, as part of our commitment to always presenting a balanced view.
Recognising that this week started with what is frequently identified as the hardest day of the year Blue Monday we explored how providers mental health support compares. Given the increased pressure millions of people are feeling in lockdown these benefits form insurers have probably never been more relevant. I believe it is really valuable for advisers to understand who offers what and Adams analysis identifies exactly that.
To support Cervical cancer prevention week Adam Higgs produced an analysis of how is cervical cancer covered in critical illness plans. As you would expect this was produced working hand-in-hand with our medical committee who have provided professional analysis of issues advisers should consider. This is another study I believe will be very helpful to advisers. If you’re going to be informed on medical issues, from a compliance perspective it must make sense for the information to come from qualified and practising medical professionals. After all, there are good reasons why it is a criminal offence in this country to impersonate a doctor. In my view it is important to listen to the professionals on medical subjects, rather than people without medical qualifications.
We closed the week producing another Everything you need to know study this time looking at Insuring Couples this includes;
The case for two single life plans rather than one joint plan
providing Income Protection for non-working partners
Which income protection plans offer support for carers and
What to do when couple separate
Over on Benefits Guru Jason Green looked at Which pension providers offer total reward statements And Kat Mitchell explored How Pension Providers approach tax efficient benefits and who offers what.
A couple of other things I came across this week that I think are worth looking at. First the Infographic Guardian produced on the impact of Coronavirus on the UK Protection market in 2020
Also, as part of my work as a financial services futurist, when not restricted by COVID19, I spend a lot of time travelling the world looking at emerging financial advice technology and other things which will impact financial advice process. One of the best fellow futurists I have come across is Dani Fava from Envestnet. It is really worth reading Envestnet’s Social Mega Trends document which has valuable guidance on things that are increasingly part of our everyday lives and will dramatically affect how we live and work in the future.
Another locked down weekend beckons, I hope everybody is staying safe and well and manages to get some relaxation in this difficult world we currently find ourselves in.
All the best
Ian
