National Friendly has vowed to increase take-up of income protection (IP) by young adults and will overhaul it’s marketing to do so.
The commitment was one of the pledges made by providers and advisers rounding off Income Protection Awareness Week to do something new or different which they think will genuinely help to grow the IP market.
Georgia d’Esterre, head of marketing at National Friendly said 18% of its accident-only income protection plan sales so far this year had been to under-35s, but it will now target 25% by the end of next year.
It will do this by engaging and using different marketing messages across a range of different channels where people do not normally see messages about protection and why it is important, d’Esterre added.
“We’re hoping this new approach will help us access new markets and bring protection to many more people that can benefit from this important insurance,” d’Esterre concluded.
The other pledges announced included LifeSearch’s commitment to ensuring one in three working age families who come directly to the firm for advice protect their incomes.
Gemma Howley, national account manager at Aviva, revealed that the insurer has pledged to provide a programme of webinar activity and presentations over the next 12 months to help advisers understand the importance of IP and the difference it makes to customers’ financial resilience.
The insurer will also look at how to build IP into protection conversations.
There were a number of pledges from The Exeter’s employees, including marketing manager Shaun Ware who pledged to talk about income protection more to encourage at least one person in his network to purchase income protection insurance.
Cura pledged to champion women’s health and use its expertise and knowledge to encourage the industry to be more aware and underwrite more fairly on women’s health conditions so that they can have the same access that men do.
Sesame Bankhall Group pledged to help its advisers more with protection conversations with a specific focus on how IP can provide clients with financial peace of mind.
LV= pledged to provide free access to tools that can be integrated into protection conversations and build awareness of protection income and confidence of protection conversations.
The mutual added it is offering a programme of webinars and dedicated one-to-one support through its IP specialists and is launching dedicated research to help advisers understand evolving needs of their clients.
Finally, Iress pledged to work with advisers and product providers to identify key issues and collaborate on solutions which help reduce complexity around IP and IP products and raise awareness of IP through regular free training and support.