Mortgage intermediaries have been urged to understand the added value benefits when promoting protection products during the pandemic by Christine Husbands, managing director at RedArc.
Husbands at RedArc, a third-party nurse service often included within insurance policies, claim that the better informed an intermediary is the better they are able to support clients. This advice comes as several types of protection insurances no longer just offer a financial pay-out in a time of crisis, but also offer other types of support including medical and emotional.
Christine Husbands said: “It is widely known that many mortgage intermediaries turned their attention to protection products in lieu of mortgages as COVID-19 stalled the housing market, and if this results in clients being better protected, that is a very good thing. However, protection is no longer just about getting a lump sum. It is important that advisers make clients aware of the support services included within these products so that their client can make an informed choice about the whole package of benefits, not just be focussed on the potential financial pay-out.
“Many insurers should be commended for the breadth and depth of support that is now available within their products. However, unless the intermediaries on the front line of giving client advice take the time to understand what’s available, they cannot possibly communicate it to their clients. That can mean a client is more likely to buy on price instead of value. And even when added value is included within a policy, the adviser needs to make it crystal clear to what extent and how to access it.”
Due to the variances in the types of added-value support that is available, RedArc urges mortgage advisers to ensure they are comparing like-for-like before discussing the selection of products with clients.
Husbands concluded: “Particularly with many brokers needing or wanting to reconfigure their business model due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I’d advise mortgage intermediaries to familiarise themselves with this aspect of the protection market in order to provide the most appropriate advice to their clients.”
