Industry Voice: A difficult mortgage market requires a fresh approach to protection

Yet, despite a significant drop in new build reservations and written business, firms can successfully navigate this new mortgage market by prioritising customer service and adapting their approach. This challenging market led Threshold Financial Services to take a fresh look at their business and reinvigorate the importance of protection. The company also picked up an Outstanding Customer Outcome at Legal and General's 2024 Business Quality Awards (BQAs).

Philip Tull, operations manager, Threshold, explains why the firm took the opportunity to revisit its approach when it comes to customer outcomes: "We've really bitten the bullet last year because of the Consumer Duty, but also with our mortgage advisers who don't always have a lot of protection experience."

"There are a lot of young advisers coming into the mortgage and protection industry with qualifications that do not particularly prepare them for selling and advising on insurance. Training and development are essential, and they've shown that they're prepared to listen and change process routes to get the best customer outcomes," he explains.

The last 12 months in the new build sector have been difficult. The total number of new builds is below the 50% government target. Meanwhile, matching a client's affordability with lending criteria has become more complex and time consuming; often successful buyers are shocked when they see the sticker price of their monthly mortgage costs.

These market challenges require a deep understanding of the client's needs and journey. "We have an inhouse re-mortgage team. So once the initial rate is up for renewal, we are in a position where we can review the protection as well. This is about the life journey of a customer, whilst they're moving through the different stages in their own lives," Tull says.

"In the new build space, where we often have a delay before completion, we revisit and re-establish those needs with the client. We go over the reasons why the policy was important in the first place; but we don't just do that via the adviser, we've got a fully briefed admin team who work on this," he says.

Consumer Duty

Consumer Duty has reinvigorated Threshold's approach to measuring customer outcomes. The firm provides customers with a questionnaire seeking feedback on the adviser and administrators who have worked on their case and introduced a new incident log to analyse the feedback.

Earlier this year, when Threshold ran protection workshops for advisers, the biggest change to come out of those was the introduction of a new process ensuring advisers quote all clients. This provides something tangible to discuss, along with a personalised protection risk report to show the percentage change of death, critical illness and sickness.

Targeting a younger demographic

Threshold aims to retain clients at all stages of the sales process and a proactive social media strategy ensures contact with a younger client.

"A high percentage of our clients are young people and first-time buyers of new build property. As a result, we see them at an early stage in their life and we work to maintain that relationship. We prioritise contact and give them that reminder that we're here. It works very well," says Tull.

Threshold is also meeting clients where they are and increasing visibility across social media. The firm has created video content featuring advisers explaining the stages of the house buying process. It continues to produce quarterly newsletters and a blog that covers all aspects of mortgages, purchase schemes, handy tips and protection briefs.

Legal & General's 2024 BQAs, hosted at London's Chartered Accountants Hall on 21 May, celebrated the protection industry's advisers and businesses who have gone above and beyond to help their clients, delivering exceptional levels of customer service and retention of business.