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Advisers Report a Shift in Consumer Attitudes Towards Protection

Protection challenger Guardian has found that advisers are seeing a shift in consumer attitude towards protection as a result of Coronavirus. Of the 410 advisers surveyed* over the last 3 months by the life and critical illness company, the majority said they’re experiencing a change in client behaviour, with 75% reporting an increased willingness to talk about protection. 75% of advisers say there has been an increase in willingness by clients to talk about protection 83% of advisers who ‘didn’t always talk about protection’ are now discussing it more frequently 38% have seen an uplift in protection enquiries from new clients 67% think protection sales will grow as their firms seek to counter lost income 66% are looking for new ways to make income as they expect overall revenue to fall due to Coronavirus Advisers said the crisis has prompted an increase in clients actively seeking protection advice. 40% had seen an increase in protection enquiries from existing clients and 38% had seen an increase from new clients. Over half of advisers (55%) said they always talk about protection. Of the rest, 83% said they’d discussed it more frequently since the pandemic began.

This shift in consumer behaviour is an important development for the protection industry and comes as advisers seek to counter lost income as a result of Coronavirus. 56% of advisers said they expected their overall revenue to fall as a result of the crisis. Nearly two thirds (66%) said they’d be looking for new ways to earn income and 67% said they thought protection sales would grow within their business.

Guardian CEO, Katya MacLean said: “Coronavirus has changed so much of what we used to call normal. It’s made us pause for thought and realise what’s really important in life. So it’s not surprising that advisers are reporting an increase in client willingness to talk about the ‘what if’s’. Those advisers who didn’t always talk to their clients about protection say they’re now discussing it more frequently, and many are also experiencing a rise in proactive protection enquiries.

“We know that before the pandemic, some advisers found it hard to talk to their clients about their own mortality and morbidity. But, for the short term at least, we’re seeing a change in consumer appetite to have this tough, but necessary, conversation.

This change in these unprecedented circumstances, gives advisers an opportunity to show clients the benefit of their advice. Which, in turn, should help more people get the cover they need.”

The research findings come shortly after Guardian was awarded Gold status across its entire life and critical illness product portfolio by independent research analyst, Protection Guru. This accolade is supported by the challenger’s own research findings, which found that of Guardian’s innovative product features, advisers particularly liked its dual life approach, simple critical illness definitions and optional children’s cover.

Source: Openwork

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