It is with regret that I am already breaking my new year's resolution.
I thought the promise I had made to myself this year would have been easy to keep but, in only the second week of January, I am writing a comment piece which contains the phrase "Gender Neutral Pricing".
No one is more disappointed by this lapse than me.
The reason I have to talk about G Day once again is that it highlighted an issue which has been discussed in the protection industry for years; namely how to get the message about the importance of getting adequate cover in place over to the general public.
My contention has always been that the best route to the customer is via the intermediary community.
I believe that every eligible protection customer touches the financial services market at regular points throughout their life - be it to open a bank account, take out a savings plan, arrange a mortgage or plan for their retirement.
The tricky part has always been how to encourage intermediaries to promote protection, even if that need was not the key driver behind the client contacting them.
The stars are coming into alignment on this matter; first the mortgage market took a huge hit which encouraged many advisers to broaden their offering to include protection.
Now, with the RDR a reality, we are anticipating another influx of protection sellers as brokers formerly concentrating on wealth propositions, look to protection to form a key part of their holistic advice proposition.
G Day provided huge impetus for intermediaries to talk to their clients about taking protection now, rather than later and the finance equivalent of the Next sale resulted, with metaphorical queues around the block.
It is unlikely (although never say never - the vague threat of disability and age related challenges still loom in the distance) that we will have another event like G Day in the foreseeable future, so the onus is on us as providers to give brokers good reason to continue pushing the need for protection to their client base, without relying on bizarre European equality rulings to give us a helping hand.
As you will have seen reported, virtually every life office recorded a record December thanks to G Day, a result which would not have been achieved without the partnership of the intermediary market.
Therefore I am more confident than ever that insurers like us should be focussed on outstanding adviser support, both in terms of people in the field and proactive marketing messages.
It is this approach; I am convinced, which will succeed in improving protection's lot, where glossy ad campaigns and brand building exercises alone have not.
Phil Jeynes is head of account development at PruProtect
