Will you protect your clients in 2018?
I’m always amazed at how many brokers treat selling general insurance as a personal choice. It’s as if I’m asking a shopkeeper what they choose to stock - it’s their decision and if not stocking certain products affects their profits, well that’s their own doing. Don’t get me wrong, a broker has every right to run his or her business as they choose, but when it comes to general insurance it’s not so much about whether you want to sell it, surely? It’s also about your duty to do so. Allow me to explain.
"Just as clients should stop viewing general insurance as an ancillary product they can take or leave brokers should stop seeing it as an optional extra for their business proposition."
General insurance is not an additional product. It should always be seen as a sister product to a mortgage. The sale should not feel complete until the protection element is sorted. You see, by choosing not to offer GI to your clients you are essentially doing half a job. You’ve sold them the ‘debt’ but not the protection needed to cover it.
It’s all well and good telling your client to go elsewhere for their GI needs or expecting them to do so of their own accord but as a financial adviser are you not concerned with making sure that client gets the very best product available to them? Is that likely to happen if the client heads to a comparison site, taps in a few details and opts for whatever product appears to be cheapest? Of course it’s not.
Just as clients should stop viewing general insurance as an ancillary product they can take or leave brokers should stop seeing it as an optional extra for their business proposition. It should be the first thing you bring up when discussing a mortgage with your client and if it’s not you have to question whether you are neglecting them.
You’re the financial expert in these situations, it’s up to you to lead the way and ensure every one of your clients is safe and secure. That’s not going to happen if you continue to view GI as product you don’t want - or need - to stock.
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