News Review: Protection
Love hate for Aviva’s Downton Abbey adverts by
Kevin Carr, chief executive of the Protection Review and MD of Kevin Carr Consulting
aviva’s income protection tV campaign, which recently aired during the breaks of popular Sunday night drama downton abbey, was widely criticised by the public on social media sites for being too depressing. the short adverts, known as idents, attempted to tell the real life story of “gary” who successfully claimed on his income Protection policy with aviva after sustaining serious injuries in a motorcycle accident.
many of those who were
negative about the campaign on twitter and Facebook may have initially misunderstood the adverts. Some assumed they were for life insurance on the false assumption that he had died in the crash, which was only heard in the advert and not shown. those of us who know
how protection products work and who promote the benefits of proper income protection plans, will applaud the initiative and welcome further adverts. However, whether or not it was too dark for a Sunday night, or whether it is exactly the sort of disturbing advertising thousands of families need
The regulator has warned advisers not to rely on their clients to judge for themselves that they have sufficient protection and savings already in place. The guidelines were issued in the FSA’s recent consultation paper on simplified advice, in which they noted that a simplified advice process may be appropriate for consumers who: a) Have their priority needs met, that is, they do not need to reduce existing debt, they have adequate access to liquid cash (i.e. savings), and have any core protection needs met. b) Have some disposable income or capital that they wish to invest.
c) Do not want a holistic assessment of their financial situation, but rather advice on a specific investment need.
The paper also stated that advisers must consider a client’s level of debt and savings before approaching investment products, before rein- forcing the importance of prioritising protection,
to see to prompt them into action, only individuals can decide. that said it is interesting
how some people seem to enjoy various forms of illness, death and even murder on tV throughout the week without a second thought, but find it more repulsive when brought a little closer to home. Love it or hate it, it certainly got people talking about it, including many of the nine million people who watch the program. Someone once said that all publicity is good publicity, and aviva should again be commended for raising the profile of protection insurance to the mainstream public, quite
FSA tells industry to prioritise protection
debt and savings, adding: “In order to meet its responsibilities under the client’s best interests rule and Principle 6, and to comply with the suitability requirements, a firm should not recommend that a client purchase an investment product unless they have a reasonable basis for believing that they can afford the new commitment. “In addition to considering its client’s level of indebtedness and access to liquid cash to meet an emergency, a firm should consider whether the client has any basic protection needs which are not met.”
It has often been said that protection is the
bedrock of all financial planning and more important than any investment allocation model. Yet, many advisers choose to ignore protection or point clients towards non-advised websites, which is arguably worse. This guid- ance from the FSA should therefore be widely welcomed.
possibly more than any company has ever done before.
News in brief
• Cirencester Friendly’s income protection product has been added to Intrinsic’s protection panel • LV= has extended its offer- ing on Assureweb to include its full range of services • Legal & General has launched a free protection app for iPhones and iPads • Next Intelligence is launch- ing a life protection panel specifically designed for the directly authorised market • Select & Protect has re- duced its MPPI rates by 20% • Advisers should report doctors who do not provide GP reports within 21 days to the British Medical Asso- ciation, the Association of British Insurers claims • The number of NHS pa- tients waiting more than 18 weeks is up by a third • Sesame Bankhall Group has entered into a long-term partnership with Connells which will give its 450 mort- gage consultants access to a range of protection products from Friends Life • ABI is considering develop- ing a non-advised Amazon- style protection website which would show consum- ers the types of products bought by other similar customers
Friends Life Protect+. Improved products, more support, greater flexibility. Visit
friendslife.co.uk/individualprotection to find out more
For advisers only. Not for use with customers. Friends Life Holdings (UK) Plc is the parent company of all the companies in the Friends Life group. This group includes Friends Life Services Limited, which has approved this advertisement, and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Friends Life is a business name of companies in the Friends Life group of companies.
www.friendslife.com
C51069 Mort Introducer
strip_29x180.indd 1
mortgage introducer OCTOBER 2011 25 26/09/2011 16:31
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 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60