As part of Health & Protection’s Guide to PMI for new entrants, Dave Middleton, executive chairman of the Association of Medical Insurers and Intermediaries (AMII), explores the importance of training and development for advisers new to the health insurance advice market.
The UK health and protection market is one of the most rewarding sectors in financial services, but it is also one of the most demanding.
For firms and advisers entering the private medical insurance space for the first time, the learning curve is steep, and the consequences of getting it wrong are real – for clients, for businesses, and for the reputation of the wider market.
That is why learning and development should not be an afterthought. It should be the very first investment any new entrant makes.
We have spent more than 25 years working alongside insurers and intermediaries to raise professional standards.
When we surveyed our membership, training and development was the number one issue. That feedback directly shaped our focus, indicating that structured, accessible learning is no longer a nice-to-have, but a baseline expectation.
Download the Guide to PMI for new entrants here
Know the market you are entering
The first thing any new adviser needs to appreciate is the breadth of what this market covers.
Health insurance is not a single product – it spans individual consumer plans, employer group schemes, health cash plans, occupational health, and international cover.
Each has its own product design, underwriting approach, claims process, and regulatory framework.
You need to understand how private healthcare sits alongside the NHS, why employers fund it, how tax and insurance premium tax affect pricing, and where the UK sits in a global context.
Without that grounding, you are advising in the dark.
The AMII Academy begins with exactly these fundamentals, taking new entrants from an introduction to PMI through to market structure and international comparisons.
Regulation and the consumer duty
If there is one area where gaps in knowledge cause the most damage, it is regulation.
The PMI market operates within a complex framework of Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules, the Insurance Distribution Directive, Consumer Duty obligations, and broader legislation around data protection and treating customers fairly.
New entrants from adjacent sectors often assume the regulatory landscape is broadly similar. It is not. The intermediary’s duty to the client is specific, substantial, and closely scrutinised.
Getting compliance right from day one is about building the trust that sustains long-term client relationships, not simply avoiding enforcement action.
Product depth and practical skills
Advisers need genuine depth in product knowledge. That means understanding underwriting – how insurers assess risk, how medical history influences pricing, and why a moratorium plan fits one client while full medical underwriting suits another.
It means understanding claims from pre-authorisation to settlement, including clinical coding and cost control mechanisms.
And it means grasping practical differences between hospital lists, benefit limits, exclusions, and the many product variations. Clients rely on advisers to navigate this complexity on their behalf.
Communication and the human element
Technical knowledge alone is not enough. The best advisers translate complexity into clarity.
Whether explaining referral pathways, helping an employer understand the return on a wellbeing programme, or managing expectations at the point of claim, the ability to communicate clearly and empathetically is what separates exceptional and adequate advice.
People in this market are dealing with health concerns and difficult decisions about cover. The human element matters enormously.
A continuous commitment
Any new entrant should see learning and development as a continuous commitment, not a box to tick on arrival.
This market evolves constantly – products change, regulation tightens, client expectations shift, and the healthcare landscape is transforming.
Our role is to respond to that, and we will continue to work alongside the industry to raise standards, develop resources, and ensure professionals at every level have what they need to advise with confidence.
Anyone entering this market should invest in their own development before anything else.
The knowledge and professional standards built now will define the quality of advice for years to come.