Advisers need to be clear on what is, and what is not covered in income protection (IP) polices, the Protection Review Conference 2024 has heard.
This is especially important when they use social media to spread their message about what is a complex product in short, sharp marketing.
Julie Godley director, intermediary at Legal & General, told delegates the key was educating customers on what income protection does and does not cover.
“It’s not accident, sickness and unemployment insurance. It’s income protection which is vastly more complex,” Godley explained.
“And it is complex when it comes to claims so we need to educate right up front so these discussions can be had with the customer and what it will pay out for.
“It’s not just going to pay out for if you’re sick and you’ve got a sick note and that’s it, it pays out. It’s not as clear cut as that so it’s all about education.
“We do it. Other businesses will have that adviser programme that will help with that part of it.”
Claims declined for stress and breavement
Alan Knowles, co-managing director at Cura Financial Services (pictured), explained why the Protection Distributors Group was campaigning for greater clarity around the sale of income protection policies.
He revealed it emanated from a couple of income protection claims that were declined due to stress and bereavement rather than an actual medical condition.
“We did a lot of work on this at PDG to talk to insurers to try and find out what this was,” Knowles said.
“And a big part of it is it’s not just having a sick note, that is not the be all and end all. There is a process that determines that because if someone has work related stress it might be a tiff at work or they don’t like their manager.
“Bereavement is incredibly difficult because it’s such an emotional point. I can’t say I entirely agree with that, but obviously it is a case by case, but we did produce a guide to hopefully educate advisers around that point.”
Social media
But this education extends equally to social media posts, Knowles noted.
“Going back to the Tiktok point and social media and talking about these products,” Knowles continued.
“We have got to be really good at talking about these products and encouraging people, but we’ve also got to be careful about the language we use.
“For example, saying this policy will pay out if you can’t work due to ill health is probably not quite good enough. We’ve got to make sure that it’s clear to people without becoming too long and drawn out.”