News Review: General Insurance
Adapt selling strategies to keep completing
by Gary Little, head of key accounts, Assurant Intermediary
It seems hard to believe that we’re in the final quarter of the year. Fortunately no-one has mentioned Christmas to me yet but now that the shops have rid their shelves of Lon- don 2012 memorabilia, you can be sure that tinsel, crack- ers and novelty giſt packs will soon be filling them. Retailers are renowned for
sales strategies. Tey predict their biggest selling periods with unerring accuracy and given the huge amount of data they hold on their customers – supermarkets in particular – they seem to know what the customer is going to put in their basket, and when, before the customer does. If only the UK housing
market were as predictable. However we all know the traditional down times and should have our sales plans in place well in advance of when business picks up again. Te summer months this year appear to have been quieter than normal, which makes it even more important that in- termediaries make the most of the final few months of the year to try and hit their tar- gets. And really, that means making a big push in October and November as income and commissions on submissions made aſter this time are un- likely to hit the books before 2013. Te outlook for the housing
market for the rest of the year remains uncertain. October tends to see a pick-up in ac-
tivity from buyers and sellers. But the continued lack of con- fidence amongst consumers about
the future, combined
with the paucity of attainable mortgage offers for first-time- buyers, means that the market is likely to stay subdued.
“The outlook for the market for the rest of the year remains uncertain”
Upside However, there could be some silver linings on the clouds. Last month the government set out a major housing and planning
package that it
hopes will deliver new homes, including affordable housing for first-time buyers, which would boost the construction sector.
where it really needs it. Te government also plans to remove restrictions on house builders to help unlock the construction of some 75,000 houses. Because some of these sites were deemed com- mercially unviable given the requirement to include a per- centage of affordable homes, construction on these houses had stalled. New legislation will guarantee up to £10bn of new homes while up to 15,000 affordable homes will be built and around 5,000 empty homes will be brought back into use in a £300m initiative.
NewBuy boost On top of this, there has been some good news from the Home Builders Federation which last month said that the government’s NewBuy scheme is gaining momen- tum. Te program hit 1,300 reservations in the six months since its launch in March. Te government also plans
to slash the red tape sur- rounding planning regula- tions.
It will consult on al-
Te measures include a £280m extension of the FirstBuy scheme, which of- fers aspiring homeowners a much-needed deposit to help get them on the first rung of the property ladder. First launched in June last year and targeting to help around 10,000 borrowers secure their first home, the aim of the extension is to help an addi- tional 16,500 first-time buyers to boost the housing market
20 MORTGAGE INTRODUCER OCTOBER 2012
lowing people to build larger extensions on houses without planning permission for a three-year period. Tis would make it easier to install con- servatories and loſt exten- sions for example. Getting and staying close to
your customers is more im- portant than ever and these new measures give interme- diaries a golden opportunity to get in touch with existing customers and market them- selves to new ones.
Sales strategies For example, find out if they are thinking about taking ad- vantage of the relaxation in
planning to add to their home instead of moving. If so, find out how they plan to fund the necessary works. Remortgag- ing their property could be the most cost effective way of raising the additional cash in- stead of dipping into savings. Tis then gives rise to dis-
cussing the impact on their existing household policies as they will need to revisit their cover. If nothing else, they will need to advise their insurer of the planned changes as they could have a positive impact on the rebuild value of the property. And of course they may well need to increase the value of their contents. Don’t forget protection in-
surance. If they do remort- gage then they may well need to revisit the level of protec- tion they have whether life insurance, critical illness, in- come protection or mortgage payment protection. It’s undoubtedly been an-
other tough year and I sus- pect it’ll be more of the same in 2013. While some have argued that the government’s latest initiatives aimed at boosting the housing market are band-aid measures, I pre- fer to take the more positive view that it is heading in the right direction. And I think we can all learn a lesson from the many sporting superstars that we’ve marvelled at over the summer. Tey kept their goals firmly in mind, adapted their training programmes where necessary, competed hard and never stopped in any race until they crossed the finishing line. So make the most of the last few months of the year and keep on pushing for business – it’s out there waiting for you.
www.mortgageintroducer.com
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