Importance of revisiting protection with customers

Why protection reviews are essential and how LifeQuote can help you deliver better customer outcomes

Global events over the last few years, including the pandemic and now the cost-of-living crisis, highlight how fortunes can change overnight, demonstrating the importance of not only recommending protection, but also revisiting clients who already have provisions in place.

In this article, we include hints and tips on how LifeQuote can help support advisers when it comes to revisiting protection with clients.

Increasing cover based on a change in client circumstances

Big life events that prompt people to buy protection should also motivate them to review their cover as their circumstances change. Upsizing the family home, a substantial increase in income and having children are examples of when an earlier recommendation may need revisiting. Guaranteed increase options (GIOs) are a great way to increase cover by up to 50% without additional underwriting. However, reviewing cover could be a better option for more substantial increases in sums assured.

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Our LifeQuote Administration service includes managing ongoing admin even after a policy has gone on risk. This includes implementing GIOs, where we can process these directly with your client and the insurer, freeing you to focus on what’s important: meeting clients and giving advice.

Rebroke to a newer policy with more opportunities to claim

Insurers regularly improve and refine their protection products, including more critical illness conditions and adding new benefits such as fracture cover as part of an income protection contract. Upgrades and developments potentially offer clients a better range of cover and ultimately, more opportunities to claim, but it’s extremely important to access whether their circumstances and health-status have changed before cancelling any existing policies.

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An important question when it comes to reviewing cover is whether or not the new policy is better than the existing one. The emergence of digital tools means advisers have more options at their disposal to research products. SmartCompare by LifeQuote helps advisers easily, quickly and conveniently compare different protection policies– across all mainstream providers and products.

Have the protection conversation but handover the labour-intensive work to us

Advisers have been faced with a dilemma over the last year as a result of the remortgage boom, where the focus has been on arranging the new mortgage and deferring the protection conversation until a later date. And whilst that’s understandable, it has left some clients without a protection plan in place.

Our administration service is the ideal solution when mortgages are the priority. You still have the protection conversation and keep the client relationship, but we look after everything once you’ve sourced the quote – freeing you to have more effective client meetings. And because we complete your client’s application and submit it to the insurer, we also look after the risk of non-disclosure.

Our admin service typically saves an adviser three hours for every protection that goes on risk. What’s more, we’re already covered ahead of Consumer Duty, as the principles behind the new regulation are intrinsically rooted in our purpose. We are fully committed to the guidance by ensuring clients take out a policy that is ultimately fit for purpose: it pays out when it matters.