Interview - Chris Horlick

Not many COVER interviewees have such a rounded view of their industry as Chris Horlick.

Apart from being managing director of Partnership's care division - one of the UK's two providers of long-term care financial products - he was a commissioner on the social care commission at City of Westminster Council.

So he also advised the local authority on the best way to deliver social care services in the face of an ageing population, tight resources and high public expectations. Well, he had his work cut out on that one.

The Dilnot Commission's report identifies that 75% of the population over 65 will need social care of one form or another.

In addition, the Public and Social Services Research Unit, who compiled the numbers for Dilnot, produced a report for Partnership suggesting the size of the immediate needs annuity market was 40% of all self-funders. This equates to a £4bn to £5bn market.

According to Partnership, which divides the market between itself and Friends Life, the current market size is about £100m a year.

As a result, more and more advisers are becoming interested in this space. So would Horlick advocate a general IFA moving into this sector?

TRADING PLACES

He's clearly keen. "Yes, I would. There are broadly two ways of approaching this. You can either find yourself someone to whom you can refer, or get involved. 
"Clearly, it is a growing market.

At a time when IFAs' core business is challenged by financial markets and people perhaps aren't doing as much investment work, this is a good and growing area to get into. 

"What's more, you are very rarely advising the older person. You are actually advising their powers of attorney who will be sitting smack in the middle, right in the heart of a typical IFA's retail client base: a 40- to 60-year-old, who has an 80- to 85-year-old parent that needs care. They are their standard customers."

Simplified, Horlick's initial advice is that in a standard fact find, add a question: Do you have any parents living? If yes, how old are they? Do they need care? Are any of them in care already? How are you funding it? 

"A whole new debate develops," Horlick said. "This is a whole new area of business for IFAs that can flow from their standard approach.