It's the season for spring cleaning and I don't just mean picking up a feather duster and making sure the cobwebs are swept away.
Spring is traditionally the time when people are motivated into taking action for the better.
Whether it's putting the house on the market or hunting for the best ISA or investment deal, for many people spring signifies a time for change and a time for taking stock of their finances.
In these tough times, when every penny counts, that could mean families trawling through their bank statements and looking for ways to cut costs. Of course the danger with this is that people may inadvertently cancel their critical illness or income protection product.
Perhaps because they either can't remember what the product is for, or they feel that it's an easy target to save a few pounds a month.
It would be fantastic to think that some of these customers will speak to their adviser first before making a rash decision to cancel. They can then be reminded why they took cover out in the first place and the potential consequences of cancelling it.
But if they are still adamant, and let's face it many people will be looking at ways to save money, they could reduce the amount of cover for a lower premium.
Ultimately having some cover in place is better than none at all and could be a solution in the short-term.
Cancelling cover and taking it out later could cost clients more and if health problems develop further down the line they might be refused cover altogether.
But at the same time as some clients carry out a financial spring clean to cut costs, others might be more receptive to taking out cover. And in these tough economic times we need to turn that heightened awareness into positive action so that people are financially protected whatever the future holds.
Roger Edwards is managing director at Bright Grey and Scottish Provident
