Expert insight, analysis and commentary across the entire protection industry.
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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by ProtectionReview 05/02/14
Everyone has an agenda. Every agenda is underpinned by a narrative, a representation of beliefs and perceptions that give the agenda legitimacy. Financial capability is no exception. This article challenges the narrative that is shared by Government and the financial services sector regarding consumers’ financial capability. "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery." Mr Micawber’s observation is presented by financial services folk as a self-evident truth. It isn’t. The evidence from research is that happiness has little to do with money;…
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by ProtectionReview 15/01/14
I recently attended the AIMIP (Association of International Medical Insurance Providers) Conference in London aboard HMS Belfast, which was sporting some big guns from the iPMI industry, (as well as its own ‘hardware’). It was a very good day, with gifted speakers who gave excellent and informative presentations. During the final ‘any questions’ session I asked if there was anything the domestic PMI market could learn from the international market – which prompted the immediate response: “There most certainly is - how long have you got?!!” The suggestions put forward included: • A level playing field for both direct and…
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by ProtectionReview 08/01/14
Swallows and Amazons - or is it the Amazons doing the swallowing? Not long ago I woke to find myself in Post-RDR Land where the mists had cleared to leave a landscape where the good folk of PRL were left waiting for ever on platforms for trains to Good Financial Outcomes. The problem was most people didn’t know financially where they wanted to go, all the helpful travel advice staff had disappeared off somewhere and the train destination boards would only work if you put money in a slot beforehand. So my new friend Alf Verage, while he felt he…
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