Protection
Protection Philosophy
Our primary goal is to provide our clients with a clear understanding of the advice process and to identify the most appropriate way to achieve their financial objectives. Working in a time where technology is at the forefront of our industry, we use this to our advantage when necessary.
We are whole of market independent advisers and there are no restrictions on who we can write business within the protection market. We use our skill, technology and experience to our advantage to ensure that no matter what type of advice we are providing, we are offering the most robust and appropriate solution to ensure that the protection we put in place underpins any other type of financial advice we provide or meets the required suitability for the problem faced.
Utilising direction from the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD), key learns from Consumer Duty and best practice advice from the FCA, we are diligent and thorough in our thought processes and always have our clients’ best interests at heart. When recommending cover, we will consider price, quality of product and best underwriting terms for every client.
The Mechanics of Life & Health Insurance
Introduction
Client Needs
As an independent financial advice firm, we understand the significance of a Centralised Protection Proposition (CPP).
A CPP is a comprehensive review and structure of the protection framework that outlines our protection advice and decision-making philosophy and Provider selection, in a clear and consistent manner.
Our CPP enables us to recommend appropriate solutions and the Providers that provide them that align with our clients' needs and objectives, enhancing their likelihood of achieving their financial goals.
We are committed to ensuring that our CPP is designed to meet the diverse needs and objectives of our clients, recognising that every client is unique and has their own set of circumstances and preferences.
Therefore, we take great care to avoid 'shoe horning' our clients into a particular product or Provider. As a result, there will be some occasions where following pre-defined criteria may not be suitable for certain clients. At this point we will look outside of the CPP to recommend a suitable alternative to meet the client’s individual requirements.
Providers
We believe that when assessing protection Providers, it's important to have certain minimum standards in place. We have identified a set of standards that we consider to be essential, and any Provider that does not meet these standards is not suitable, particularly in a consumer duty centric world. By using these standards, we can ensure that we are recommending suitable protection solutions that meet the needs of our clients in a transparent and consumer-focused way.
Having conducted thorough market research, we have considered a number of qualities and statistics, including, but not limited to:
- The Providers’ history & heritage
- Brand strength
- Financial rating, where available
- Claims statistics
- Market share
- Critical illness conditions covered
- Quality of Critical Illness Cover
- The definitions of medical conditions covered
- Children’s critical illness quality and pregnancy/pre-congenital conditions covered
- Income Protection claims paid
- Income Protection occupations covered philosophy
- NHS staff sick-pay coverage
- Peripheral/additional support benefits
- Business protection products
- Client centric support offered by health and wellbeing support systems and partners
Protection Insurance Products
The product selection process is a crucial part of our CPP. As financial advisers, we are responsible for selecting the most suitable product for our clients based on their unique circumstances.
We consider a range of factors when selecting protection products. Due to this we conduct thorough due diligence on the Providers to ensure that they meet our high standards for quality, reliability, and security. This helps us recommend suitable solutions that align with our clients' objectives and budgets.
Given that we are independent financial advisers, we can advise on all products across all Providers, inclusive of all options, which is ideal for our clients. We have a duty of care that we utilise these Providers and their options carefully and appropriately.
Below is a summary of the products, and some options, that are available to us that will make up the majority of what we will advise on in the personal and business protection space.
If you are in the position where you’d like to review your existing arrangements, or start protection planning for the first time, our trusted advisors are on hand to make your decisions that little bit easier and more certain.
Contact us for a personal consultation
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