So, what are the knowns and unknowns of the forthcoming Gender and I minus E changes? Mark Jones takes us through a few wrinkles
Will providers be switching to gender neutral rates before G-Day? Possibly. Pressure is already on to manage and reduce the pipeline ahead of G-Day. Providers are working on options and some have already revealed – in high level terms – how they intend to adopt the Gender Directive.
It is expected some will start switching to neutral rates ahead of G-Day (one specialist provider did so last year), so that will make some of the deadlines even shorter. Some may try to operate dual pricing (showing both specific and neutral rates), but portals might have challenges handling that.
What should advisers be doing now?
A five-point plan
There is a growing awareness and interest among advisers about the forthcoming changes. A ‘protection fire sale’ is unlikely, more likely is a case of business dropping forward from early 2013 into this year.
The changes offer great reasons to talk to both new and existing clients about protection. Here is a simple five-point plan to help advisers offer more certainty to their clients and give them the financial protection they need on a known basis and terms – so they are not left in limbo.
1. Plan to take advantage of the changes to talk to clients about protection. If they do not take action soon, they could end up paying hundreds of pounds more.
2. Segment clients and offer guidance about how changes might affect them. Providers offer a range of guides and tools. Visit www.lv.com/nomoreguesswork the dedicated gender website for advisers from LV= and you can register for regular gender news updates.
3. Prioritise your cases. Try to get your more complex cases in first.
4. Choose your partners. Provider service propositions are more important then ever – take advantage of online systems and tele-interviewing to speed up applications.
5. Forewarn your clients that the premium may change from the one they have been quoted, particularly if they are applying nearer G-Day. And if a GP report is required get them onside and speaking to their doctor.
And a couple of extra things to think about:
- Re-broking is going to be tough next year. For many, protection will never be as cheap as it is now.
- If your client has missed a premium (an early sign that they might be cancelling their policy), point to the forthcoming changes as another reason to re-think their position. They may be looking to trim outgoings, but why did they buy the protection in the first place? And if they are hoping to re-start later, then it is likely to be more expensive in 2013.
Mark Jones is head of protection at LV=. If you want to ask a question about gender or I- E, email him at [email protected]
Potential average impact of Gender and I-E changes on market rates:
