Mortgage Advice Bureau, Business Quality Awards
In the financial advice industry it is easy to become fixated on attracting new clients, but to do so risks overlooking clients left stranded in existing policies. This train of thought led Mortgage Advice Bureau Northern Ireland (MAB NI) to re-engineer their client care programme. This resulted in better client outcomes, and the company also picked up the Outstanding Customer Outcome award at Legal & General's 2023 Business Quality Awards (BQAs).
Orlagh Hallet, Mortgage and Protection Specialist at MAB NI sheds light on why financial advisers should pay more attention to nurturing and maintaining relationships with their current client base.
She explains that MAB NI has been searching for clients whose advisers have retired or passed away. By reaching out to these "orphaned" clients they discovered that many were unaware of their entitlements and potential claims.
Hallet says: "Over the last 2 years, we've had over 200 claims; clients who didn't know they could claim on their plans, didn't know they had plans or even forgot about them. We've reinitiated contact with them, and it's been successful."
Missed Opportunities
There are many reasons why a client might not claim on their insurance policy. They might not be aware that it is part of their employee benefits package. Sometimes individuals may have multiple insurance policies with different providers and have simply forgotten about them. Without financial advice, individuals can go decades without understanding the state of their insurance policy.
Hallet explains that some clients have been paying premiums for years without realising they could make claims. By educating clients about their plans MAB NI were able to help them access financial support when needed. Over the past 5-6 years she says they have delivered over £35 million in claims back into the region of Northern Ireland.
Technology-enabled
However, identifying clients in need of help is easier said than done. Hallet explains that MAB NI utilises technology to locate stranded clients by filtering through a database with over 17,000 policies. Identifying those who have been sold policies but are yet to receive any follow-up, helps narrow down the pool of customers they need to contact.
She says: "I can see if they're active, if they're not active and if they have an active adviser. If they don't have an adviser, I pull them out and give them to the team. We use it every day."
However, she admits there is scope for technology to enhance their process. Commenting on the artificial intelligence on display at Legal & General's 2023 BQAs she says that streamlining administrative tasks would free up capacity to support customers, no matter their background.
She says: "Clients are clients, no matter what, we don't differentiate. Whether they pay a £200 premium or £20, it doesn't matter; we want to make sure what they have is right. It's as simple as that."
