Expert insight, analysis and commentary across the entire protection industry.
by ProtectionReview 11/03/14
IFAs are lazy. Or are they? One man’s laziness is another man’s effective time management, or something. The question is; what should we be expected to do for ourselves and what should we expect the life offices to do for us? Take protection research for example. When recently researching key person cover, I needed to compare contracts and costs for a blend of Short-term IP, indexed CI & level Life. I’d established my short-list of five providers who were in the frame. You can’t readily compare key person menu plans via a portal so I had to go the old…
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by ProtectionReview 05/03/14
As the Family Support Initiative continues to gain momentum and support from the industry part of the equation, it seems an opportune time to look at the charitable sector and why we feel it is so important to work with them as partners on this project. Many charities are on the front line dealing with people who have had to stop work due to illness, and are already providing them with significant help, both financial and practical. You can see some examples of this in my round-up on www.iptf.co.uk. Some of these people will be existing income protection claimants, but…
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by ProtectionReview 18/02/14
Twelve years ago I had a total knee replacement; a week ago I had my knee resurfaced. When they opened up the knee they discovered I will need a knee revision, which due to issues of consent and theatre time couldn’t be performed at that point. The care whilst in the hospital was great and an excellent follow-up care package was put in place. But, and here is the point of the blog, the care package is generic. It has to meet the needs of Margaret, a 91 year old care home resident, Eileen an 81 year old who lives…
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by ProtectionReview 18/02/14
I recently saw an interesting post from Kevin Carr on Facebook about ‘engagement’ in terms of what can be and what is being done with protection products to increase consumer engagement (i.e. to sell more). He referenced added value benefits like care services and even cash-back. That got me thinking about a recent changed in the market down here in the south pacific. We may have some ideas to share with the rest of the world. After 20 years in UK financial services I was involved in bringing so-called ‘straight through processing’ down-under in the late 00’s. It didn’t really…
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by ProtectionReview 11/02/14
I was recently asked by my mum what exactly I do for a living. She has never really understood the “consultant” moniker and she works in the NHS so the connotations for her are that I save lives or examine and fix body parts. I told her that I spend my days helping organisations to listen to customers and to use what they learn to do better things for their customers – and stop doing bad things to them. She looked perplexed. I thought she didn’t understand, but as I tried to explain it in more detail she put me…
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