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Can you give advice online via a website?
Issue of the month
It’s no secret that a huge number of consumers either have no financial protection in place at all, have too little or have the wrong type of cover. It's also true that few people who arrange their protection without advice get the right blend of covers, so advice is needed. In addition, more and more of us do more and more shopping on the web, whether it’s for CDs, clothes or financial products. Yet until now, no-one has tried to link these truths and produce an easy to use, consumer-friendly site where people can buy financial protection online with regulated advice.
That’s why LifeSearch launched GetLifeRight.co.uk on 11 May. We tried to make the buying journey quick and simple, to engage consumers, yet offer a good standard of advice while including a back-up system of teleinterviewing to tackle the completion of the complexities of the application process, such as medical issues as well as immediate access to a phone-based adviser for non-standard clients who need further help.
We believe taking advice onto the web is essential if we are to help protect people in a way that execution-only insurance salesmen cannot. Embrace it, copy it or beat it, but let’s at least admit that advice on the web, in tandem with face-to-face and phone-based advice, is where we must head.
Round up
2 – the average number of minutes it takes consumers to go from the first page of GetLifeRight.co.uk to being covered
9 – number of rate changes since the last bulletin (AEGON, AXA (x2), Fortis, Friends Provident (x4), LV=) 70 – the percentage of people buying a Critical Illness policy who believe they are being given advice during an execution-only sale, according to the FSA
85 - the percentage of BUPA members who, when an exclusion and premium reduction have been applied at underwriting stage, have put the policy on risk
250,000 – the amount in £ that someone with HIV can take out Life Cover for with PruProtect, for up to 10 years.
Case study of the month
Client: Mr Betts
Needs: Initially he had trouble deciding what type of cover to take out. He particularly wanted unemployment cover. After searching around he came to us. Because his company was in the process of a takeover it was difficult to find cover.
Our recommendation: As he has several needs but limited budget, he decided to take out a Real Life Cover policy with additional Unemployment. (This means he is covered for any eventuality that could cause him to lose his income, except being sent to jail). Real Life Cover is also one of the few ways to get Unemployment Cover now.
Result: he was refused the unemployment cover element because his company was deemed too much of a risk. However, we fought the case on his behalf and in the end the insurer relented and offered him cover.
(If you need a case study, feel free to get in touch and we’ll find one for you).
LifeSearch Comment
It's time for a radical rethink as to how to best get financial services helping consumers, as LifeSearch MD Tom Baigrie explains here here.
Heroes of the month
- Helen Pridham and Melanie Wright...
…for winning Trade and Consumer Protection Journalist of the Year respectively at this year’s Headline Money Awards. However, all those who have written about protection over the past year deserve a big thank you from the industry for their fair-minded treatment of Protection Insurance, which receives far less negative coverage in the press than is generally perceived.
- ASDA...
…who are still leading the way for supermarkets with financial advice. The news that Friends Provident have signed up with Tesco to supply protection products to the supermarket’s customers is a positive step. Friends Provident are a good company with quality products and Tesco customers will be better off than previously. However, customers will not benefit fully until major retailers follow ASDA’s lead and offer their customers free independent advice. It is fairer for consumers and makes good business sense too.
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