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by Protection Review 01/07/24

Here's all the information you need to submit a written entry for the Protection Review Awards 2024 for you or your company.

Please email your entry for each award as a Word Document attachment to in[email protected] no later than midnight on Friday 30th August 2024.

Entry guidelines

• When putting together a written entry please follow the ‘Two achievements and a wish’ format – Two things you or your company has done well over the last year plus one thing you would like to do or improve and how. In previous years the ‘wish’ element of some entries has been very generic – please try to be specific where possible.
• All written entries should include an external testimonial. This can be a supporting comment from any external person or organisation such as an adviser, customer, journalist or partner organisation. Testimonials are required for all written entries and should be sourced – any entries without a testimonial may not be considered.
• Young Achiever of the Year Award is for anyone working in the protection/health insurance industry who is under 30 at the time of entry.
• Entries are a maximum of 500 words unless otherwise stated within the criteria – plus testimonials up to 250 words (written entries only – supporting information and videos are not required).
• Entries may contain graphics as long as they directly support points being made in the entry and are not used excessively.

Awards Criteria

Underwriting and Claims Award

LAST YEAR’S WINNER:  Zurich

Underwriting and claims is combined in one category to recognise and reward innovation and improvements in underwriting and claims management. Which provider has the best underwriting process? Which providers are making the best use of technology in a positive way? Which providers are underwriting fairly and paying claims quickly? Which providers make it easier to write new business? Which companies provide quick and easy access to underwriters? Which companies make fair and appropriate underwriting decisions on a consistent basis?

Note: All entries in this category should include the most recent claim statistics including paid percentages by different product lines (e.g. Life, CI, IP), the number and/or value of claims paid during that year, and the average time to pay claims. Any entries that do not reference claims statistics may be discounted.

Innovation Award

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: UnderwriteMe
Which company has been the most innovative across the protection and health insurance markets over the last year? Which company has shown the greatest desire to move the industry forward through innovation? Please supply details of which innovation(s) you are referring to when entering along with evidence of their impact.

Protection Intermediary of the Year

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: Cura Financial Services

This category is for companies, rather than individual people. Which protection intermediary firm has done the most to drive the industry forward? Which adviser firm is considered to be the best in the market? Which firm would you recommend to friends and family? Which one stands out above all others as the protection intermediary of choice?

Note: All entries in this category should ideally include product splits (e.g. % of business written that is Life, CI, IP, PMI etc), the % of business written as indemnity vs non-indemnity, and the % of life cover written in trust

Individual Protection Adviser of the Year

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: Krystle Skelton, Cura Financial Services

This category is for individual advisers, rather than companies. Which individual adviser is not only an excellent protection adviser for their clients but also does more than most to drive the industry forward as well as helping other advisers? If you were buying protection, which person would you want helping you?

Best New Product/Enhancement

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: Guardian

Which new product or product enhancement, has made the biggest improvement to the industry over the last year? Which has helped customers the most? Which is helping to grow the market the most? Which has helped to raise standards across the industry? We will only consider products or enhancements launched after 1st September 2023 for this award.

Young Achiever Award

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: Evric Davis

This award is open to anyone working in the protection or health insurance industry who is under 30 at the time of entry. The person should show an outstanding level of knowledge and commitment in their field, supplemented by any notable achievements over the last year. Entries should look beyond the basics of the person’s routine activities.

Health Insurance Adviser of the Year

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: Howden Life & Health
Which company has done the most to drive the health insurance industry forward? Who provides the best PMI advice to consumers? Which adviser would you recommend to friends and family for any health insurance related matter?

Doing it Better Award

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: Zurich

Our aim is to recognise the company that's getting it right, not only with their products and customer service, but with their commitment to diversity, corporate responsibility, culture, charity, local community and the long-term health and well-being of their people. Entries that demonstrate a strong commitment in many or all these areas will stand a strong chance of winning.

Unsung Hero Award

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: Malcolm West – Sesame Bankhall Group

We are looking to recognise those people making a real difference to consumers and advisers every day who aren’t in senior management, aren’t in the media or public eye, and aren’t well known in the industry. Entries that demonstrate a truly important role in the customer or adviser journey that is making a really positive difference will stand a good chance of winning.

Best Care and Support Experience

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: The Exeter

Please state clearly who provides the service(s)

This category is for INSURERS to enter and includes the growing range of added value services that are available to customers through their life and health insurance policies. Please state clearly who provides the service. Everything from GP services and second opinions, through to counselling, rehabilitation, support and more. How have you engaged advisers and customers to showcase the value and increase take up of your care and support service? How have your services made a difference to customers’ lives? How would you quantify the success of the experience you offer? Please also evidence the success of your experience with user data rather than just percentage of service take-up.

NEW AWARD: Best Protection Marketing

This award is open to any company who has excelled in promoting protection or health insurance to advisers and/or consumers. This includes marketing and/or PR campaigns, social media, events, research, reports & more. The judges will be looking for strong evidence of activity and impact that has helped to grow the market and/or to better educate/inform advisers or consumers.  

Best Protection Network
LAST YEAR'S WINNER: Paradigm Protect

This award seeks to recognise those Networks or Clubs which are working to grow the protection market and improving advice standards in the industry. Why should a protection adviser join your network above others? What evidence can you provide of the impact you have had on the growth of the protection market and how you have contributed to raising standards of advice?

Global Development Award
LAST YEAR’S WINNER: Hannover Re

This award is for any firms who have launched a development outside of the UK in the last 18 months in the life/health insurance space. The development can be within product development, underwriting, technology or claims areas and the impact should be quantifiable in terms of improvement to business processes, customer outcomes or product features.

NEW AWARD: Distribution Impact Award

This award is for medium to high volume distributors that demonstrate excellent consumer outcomes. Entries should include:

• evidence of how you are demonstrating fair value and ensuring good outcomes for customers in line with consumer duty
• details of any new measures introduced to further enhance your service/outcomes
• brief information on business volumes for either 2023 and/or the last 12 months (measured by annual premium and/or total number of policies, split by life/CI/IP etc)
• brief information on cancellations and lapses including details of any actions taken to improve customer retention 

Entries from advised, non-advised, and aggregator firms are welcome.

REMINDER

Check your word count and make sure to include an external testimonial.

CATEGORIES NOT REQUIRING A WRITTEN ENTRY

Personality of the Year

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: Setul Mehta

Which individual person has shown the most determination and passion for improving the protection and health insurance industry over the last year? This could include improving consumer outcomes, driving regulation, advertising, training, product development and more.

Protection Journalist of the Year

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: Graham Simons, Health & Protection

Which journalist has shown the most consistency for reporting accurate, timely and challenging protection news and/or features? Which journalist do you read most for protection issues? Which name do you look out for to make sure you don’t miss what they have to say? Who has challenged the industry to make things better for advisers and our customers?

Organisation of the Year

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: Zurich

Overall, which company has been the best organisation in the protection and health insurance industry? Who has done the most to take the industry forward and improve the market for consumers? This can be an insurer, distributor, adviser, reinsurer, trade body, technology firm or any other organisation.

Lifetime Achievement Award

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: Vicky Churcher

Who deserves special recognition at this stage of their career? Which person from any part of the protection and health industry has done more than any other during their long career to improve the market for everyone, especially consumers? Who has consistently driven the industry forward over a significant period of time, be it in distribution, manufacturing, regulation, a trade body or somewhere else. Who do you respect most across their career in our industry?