Wills

Generating extra income

Wills and asset protection are often overlooked but with over two thirds of people without a will this could be a lucrative growth area

by

Jeff Smith,

commercial director, The Asset Protection Strategy

It was 2007, the property boom was at its height, and like many mortgage brokers, Toby Clement couldn’t process the mortgage applications fast enough. The phone was ringing non-stop, money was rolling in and business couldn’t have been better.

Then everything changed. At the start of 2008 the economy faltered, the housing market crashed and the banks started shutting their doors. By the middle of 2008, the mortgage market had effectively ground to a halt and Toby’s phone had stopped ringing. As with all other brokers, the sudden and sharp cut in Bank rate was the final straw.

Almost two years on and nothing much has changed. Despite a few green shoots, the mortgage market is still a shadow of its former self and who knows whether the current rise in activity will last? But something has changed. Toby is now making more money than he was back in 2007 when the mortgage market was at its height.

Time To diversify

So how has Toby managed to survive and prosper while other mortgage brokers struggle to make ends meet? Simple, he diversified. Brokers can’t wait in the vain hope that the housing market will recover in time to save their businesses. The good ol’ days when mortgages were a licence to print money have gone, possibly forever. Just as we have a new

32 mortGaGe introducer JUNE 2010

age in politics, so a new age in financial services has also begun where brokers need to be proactive and look for new revenue propositions, ideally those that dovetail seamlessly with their existing mortgage business and which they can start making significant returns from in a very short time.

AsseT proTecTion

Asset protection is the process of protecting an individual or family’s wealth across generations, not only legally but from HM Revenue & Customs. It’s one of the few financial services growth markets at present. The reason for this is that more than two thirds of people do not have a

will, while a significant percentage of those that do will have an out-of-date or incorrectly drafted will. The result, in many cases, can be catastrophic — both personally and financially. Similarly, the vast majority of life insurance policies that your clients hold will not be written in trust, which can not only result in assets falling into the wrong hands but may mean unnecessary inheritance taxation.

In all likelihood, beyond pure mortgage

protection cover, a large number of your clients will have no additional life assurance in place at all, exposing all remaining family members upon death. In short, there’s a huge potential market for brokers to move into and one Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48