Insurers talk to advisers about products, but should advisers expect more? Nick Jones thinks they should.
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Let us go back to the start. As a consumer, I do not start to care about which product is best until I have decided I need to buy something. For me, this begins by tapping into my psyche. Liken this to giving money to charity. How often do we weigh up the pros and cons of a list of charities before donating? A much more likely scenario is hearing, reading or watching something that affects us on an emotional level, creating an immediate urge to do something about it.
Income protection isn’t a product that fills people with glee when they buy it, but it does provide comfort and reassurance that they have taken positive steps to protect their family if their health takes a turn for the worse.
So how do we tap into these emotions? It doesn’t have to be through over-the-top scare tactics; consumers are savvy and are often quick to recognise the signs and switch off. Instead, a more positive and warm approach is needed.
Claims stats are a good start, but the stories are what really bring them to life. Case studies from claimants can be an excellent way of bringing to life the facts and realities, while making things that little more personal.
• Giving you more people to talk to
It doesn’t matter how good a product is if you haven’t got anyone to talk to about it. So insurers need to help advisers stimulate deman and get more customers talking about protection. But how do we do that?
First, we need to develop some of the right messages. We need to provide advisers with content that taps into customer’s emotions and calls them to action. But more than just provide it, we need to make it easily accessible and ready to use.
If advisers don’t have the time to be as pro-active as they would like, then we can be pro-active for them. We can allow advisers to take the content and create simple, effective campaigns that will make people pick up the phone and start talking about protection.
Inevitably, this means going further than the traditional sales aid and providing support in different formats, ways and media. Advisers are all different and engage with customers in different ways and as insurers we need to reflect this in our support.
• Providing compelling arguments to tackle objections
Buying a protection policy isn’t necessarily an instant decision, and it might not be plain sailing from start to finish, so insurers need to provide advisers with support all along throughout the journey.
A big part of the toolkit of any successful adviser is being prepared to answer typical objections and exploding a number of myths or misconceptions. If customers decide that income protection isn’t for them for one reason or another, prepared information will improve both perceptions and conversions.
This objection handling is crucial in turning opportunities into numbers, but too often it is left solely down to an adviser to manage. The more support insurers can provide to help advisers counter any objections and arguments they may encounter along the way, the better it will be for all of us.
So it is time that we opened up and shared our experience of customers for the greater good; our long-term success will depend on growing the size of the market – not beating one another.
How do we share this information? Again, it has to be in ways that work for different advisers. For some events, discussions and roundtables will work – the ability to talk thorough thoughts and ideas with peers. For others, it’s simply by sharing information in a simple and accessible way – information they can delve into and the drop of a hat when they choose.
Time to push up the list of priorities
Despite the challenges ahead, there’s no reason to be disheartened. There are not many financial products with protection’s almost unrivalled potential, potential that can be realised with commitment and ambition.
It’s time for advisers to demand more from insurers. Time to break free from the shackles of regulation and do what you do best. Time to help more clients protect their incomes and their families against the potentially devastating effect of ill health.
Because, when all is said and done, it is the right thing to do. The right thing for you, the right thing for your business and almost always the right thing for your clients.
Nick Jones is brand & marketing manager at Exeter Family Friendly
