Over the past five years, Income Protection sales have steadily declined. This inevitably has led to a growth in the Protection Gap, which has now reached £175 billion of annual benefit*.
This alarming trend is clearly a cause for industry concern. While consumers are at risk, advisers are left struggling to convince them that being unable to work due to long-term illness or accidental injury is a real possibility.
So what is the solution? Could more effective marketing of the product by both advisers and providers alike encourage consumers to re-consider the potential value Income Protection provides and help them recognize its importance?
It’s fair to suggest that this could certainly help. Consumers need to understand that Income Protection should be an essential part of their financial planning and given a high priority in amongst their hierarchy of needs.
Example scenarios and product features can reinforce this, but in today’s financial environment, consumers need to feel reassured that in the event of a claim, it will be paid promptly and they’ll receive first class service and support.
FRIENDS® has the answer…
As the industry’s market leading provider, Friends Provident has provided Income Protection for more than 120 years and achieved award winning success. We were the first provider to offer Income Protection without standard exclusions such as War and HIV. In addition to this, we also offer a whole host of key product features that are beneficial to your customers, including:
- Hospitalisation Benefit automatically included at no extra costAlthough premiums must continue to be paid during the claim, it is not financially assessed so your client can receive benefits if they have been confined to hospital for more than 8 days during the deferred period.
- Concise ‘own’ occupation definition
- Rehabilitation Benefit and Proportionate Benefit to help support your client’s return to work.
More importantly FRIENDS® provides a robust product that is fair and sensibly priced to reflect the customers level of risk. This is illustrated by our claims history. In 2006, we paid out more than £26 million in Income Protection claims and over 60% of our claims have been in payment for more than 5 years.
Simple and efficient claims and underwriting service
Should your customer need to claim, they’ll benefit from a personal, dedicated claims assessor. This will allow them to establish a trusting relationship with a single point of contact who will support them throughout their illness and return to work. They will also be provided with an information booklet detailing what they need to do, what they might expect and what help we can provide to get them back on the road to recovery.
To help avoid disappointment in the event of a claim not being paid, we provide information at the application stage too. As part of our commitment to Treating Customer’s Fairly, a customer underwriting guide is available to help them understand the process and ensure that they are aware of the importance of disclosure. We also provide a guide for advisers, which includes an application checklist and an underwriting help line number for you to call and discuss potential decisions or obtain advice, before submitting the proposal form. Available on 0845 7573036, this help line is manned by experience underwriters rather than administrators.
It’s also important to provide a quick and efficient service to you and your customers when they apply for their Income Protection policy. We have changed the way we underwrite policies to try and speed up the process. We try to use Nurse screening examinations in the client’s home, rather then full Doctor examinations in the surgery. Making it easier to get an appointment. We will also contact you directly where we have rated or applied an exclusion to a policy, so we can provide you with a full explanation to help you sell it to your client.
Innovative technology
To make your life easier and further enhance the service you provide your client, you can also take advantage of our new online Income Protection quote service. This allows you to quote and produce an illustration for individual IP and Houseperson's Cover through our website in just a few simple steps.
Quotes can be produced on a level or increasing basis, with the option to choose a weekly benefit amount or total premium figure. Quotes incorporating multiple deferred periods can be produced too, and a calculator is available to help you estimate your clients' shortfall based on their salary and circumstances. Our innovative technology also allows illustrations to be printed, the quote to be saved for retrieval later or to proceed straight to the online application form, which is pre-populated with the client's details.
To find out more about Friends Provident’s Income Protection and the unrivalled service we provide, go to www.fp.com/adviser/protection
