Health and protection advisers want unconscious bias training to avoid the pitfalls of erroneously held preconceptions about their clients.
The findings come from in-depth interviews with 100 advisers conducted by BVA BDRC for The Exeter which revealed some notable misconceptions often held.
The mutual said its research found some “potentially intriguing themes” around this topic.
For example, clients that were able-bodied, homeowners, or white, were more likely to be told about income protection than customers with a disability or impairment, renters, or those from ethnically diverse communities.
White collar workers were marginally favoured over blue collar workers, but encouragingly there was virtually no gender bias, with advisers speaking about income protection to male and female clients in almost equal proportion.
Majority want training
More than half (54%) of those advisers interviewed said they would be interested in training to help them avoid unconscious bias in their conversations with customers.
Overall, one in six (16%) advisers admitted they had been guilty of unconscious bias when considering whether a client needed to insure their income.
The insurer noted that the true prevalence might be even higher as 40% of advisers believed others can fall victim to unconscious bias as well.
And the majority of those surveyed (57%) said they had clients who they originally thought would not accept a recommendation to insure their income but actually did.
One adviser acknowledged there had been occasions when they predicted a client might be on a limited budget and therefore unable to afford everything they need, only for this to prove untrue.
While another said they can get carried away by a perceived image of wealth and assume a client can afford better cover.
But the insurer noted that just because clients may appear well-off it did not mean their finances were always in excellent shape.
“Overcoming unconscious bias is vital for the advice industry, especially as 57% of advisers stated they had clients who they originally thought would not accept a recommendation to insure their income but actually did,” the insurer said.
“Our research with advisers and working age adults also confirms a particular bias,” it continued.
“More than a third of advisers thought the under-30s were the least likely to discuss insuring their income, yet our data suggests younger generations were more likely to hold or to consider holding this type of insurance.”
The Exeter concluded: “It is essential to tackle both the language and unconscious bias issues to help raise awareness of this important product which suffers a huge gap between need and take-up.”
