Advisers need to move beyond initial conversation starters and really take clients down the rabbit hole to unlock the true value of income protection (IP) for clients.
This is according to Sam Marriott, director and co-founder at CSE Financial, who was speaking during a debate about income protection and mortgages on the second day of the Income Protection Taskforce’s Income Protection Awareness Week.
During today’s debate, Marriott urged advisers to sell the value of income protection in their questioning of clients.
He explained some advisers will only ask the sort of top level questions contained in their sales training along the lines of what their client would do if they were off work due to an accident or sickness.
While this will lead the client to reel off the benefits of income protection, Marriott explained they will not actually feel the gap it can fill and will therefore not buy into it.
To counter this, Marriott called on advisers to talk about what will happen if their client failed to be able to afford their mortgage.
This can lead the client to consider whether they would have to move in with their parents or whether they would need to relocate and how this might affect their children such as a potential adverse impact on their education.
Marriott maintained that the more an adviser asks these sorts of questions, the more the client will see the value of income protection and it can then be introduced as a solution.
“I think too many advisers, who I’ve worked with in the past, just do that top bit but they don’t go down the rabbit hole,” Marriott said.
“I’m asking people – go down the rabbit hole because then they’ll start to see the value and then it doesn’t matter what the price is because if they see the value in it.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s £40, £50 a month because they know they really, really need it and they know they’re going to keep it for years to come.”
The IP awareness week involves a series of free to attend online events which take place between 20 and 24 September between 12 and 1pm UK time.