UK insurer AIG Life has put together a “protection toolkit” for advisers, providing them with digital content which they can use in conversation with their clients.
The content tracks each stage of advising on protection, from initial meeting preparation right through to following up post-policy.
Vicky Churcher, AIG Life’s intermediary director, admitted “talking about protection isn’t easy”, but that finding the right tools should be.
“[The toolkit] supports an adviser’s need to engage clients on all things protection and, whatever stage of the protection journey they’re at, find everything they need in just a couple of clicks,” said Churcher.
“The beauty of it is it’s easily expandable, highly portable and ready to go at a moment’s notice.”
The insurer said it built the toolkit with intermediaries in mind. Content includes customer-facing leaflets, sales aids, customer stories, a 'playbook', and calculators.
The content will grow over time based on continued feedback from intermediaries, said AIG Life.
Alan Lakey, founder of CIExpert, said toolkits such as this could be “invaluable for inexperienced and experienced advisers”.
He continued: “Often there will be difficult-to-find information and usually these kits provide the info and, what’s more, provide information you did not realise you needed.”
But Kevin Carr, chief executive of Protection Review, said the toolkits helped some, but not all, advisers.
“In truth, I think it depends on the adviser and also the type and age of the adviser (telephone, protection specialist, wealth, IFA, mortgage, etc.),” he explained.
“I’ve no doubt some advisers find these more useful than others, and insurers usually launch things like this in response to intermediary demand.”
Adam Higgs, Protection Guru’s research boss, agreed the usefulness of such toolkits could vary.
“The worth of these toolkits will really depend on the experience of the adviser,” he said. “Some of the tools provided by insurers can be useful, particularly for helping with complex protection issues such as calculating a key person’s worth or helping highlight the likelihood of a claimable event happening.
“My issue with many of these toolkits is that they are really just promoting that particular insurer’s proposition.
“For any adviser that is not working on a single tie with that insurer it can be off putting, especially if you haven’t yet made a recommendation to the client - what if that insurer is not the best option?.”
ruby.hinchliffe@ft.com
