Guide to targeting the right clients for Income Protection. For financial advisers only.

Transcription

1 Guide to targeting the right clients for Income Protection For financial advisers only.

2 Target Clients for Income Protection Introduction Income Protection is a considered product and therefore encompasses a longer lead time than other products to conclude the sale. Ensuring your sales efforts are aimed at the right target market therefore is vital to ensure you re not wasting your time nor that of your clients. The following is designed to inform you: When people are more likely to consider purchasing Income Protection Who they are/what influences them How to target them - suggested sales approach to use.

3 Consumer Life Stages When are people interested in selling Income protection? Life Style Stage Focus Products they are interested in First job/first car No responsibilities Focused on Me and now Standard of living/standing in peer group Not serious Car insurance House contents Mobile phone Travel insurance Eligibility Openness to IP First mortgage/ Marriage Commitment Focused on Me, Us and now A little more Stress / Financial pressure About self /spouse/lifestyle Life cover Mortgage Protection House contents Critical illness Dependants Dependants bring Responsibility Focus turns to Our family and tomorrow lifestyle Income Protection now becomes something they might be interested in. Pensions Critical Illness

4 Targeting The Responsibility and Commitment Bullseye Anyone 44 years old or under taking on commitment/ responsibilities. Risk aware parents 80k+ family income years age Friends First Class 1 & 2 (Mortgage/remortgage/ pension/savings are key triggers). Anyone years old getting mortgage/or considering pension or savings. Risk aware planning a family. Mid-high income years age.

5 Target Consumer Parents yrs, mid-high joint net worth, well-educated, either or both in employment. Risk aware mindset - open to or understand the need for protection. Research has shown the following key perceptions and drivers for this segment of society; key purchase triggers for Income Protection are when life assurance/(re-mortgage/pension are being considered. They know that their outgoings are high and sometimes wonder where all of the money goes but are so busy running and living their lives that they haven t got as far as (or don t want to) thinking about what would happen if the money wasn t there. The male partner is key to the decision to purchase, but it will very often be the woman that sees the need and drives the process.

6 What research tells us.. Children are a big focus for attention for both men and particularly women. While we certainly found variations by personality, by household etc., we can draw some general conclusions about gender patterns when it comes to decision making on products such as Income Protection. Research tells us that Men are interested in wealth creation and women are interested in protecting it. You need to stimulate men s interest in the product, but it s the women very often who drive the process and purchase. Women are really the critical influencers on CONSIDERATION of Income Protection, both in terms of simply broaching the topic with their partner, and also in identifying, recognising and leveraging the issue of vulnerability of their lifestyle.

7 Occupation Target Sample Occupations: Professional Occupations: GP s, Solicitors, Accountants, Company Owners, Hairdressers, Funeral Directors, Software Contractors. Reviewing your Existing Client Bank: Pension Clients They have pension funds in place for retirement but these funds are dependant on their ability to earn an income in their working years. Any loss of income due to ill health will affect their pension planning. They need Income Protection in conjunction with their pension to have a full circle pension plan in place. Sales Approach: Ensure you have your figures prepared as part of your pensions meeting. Raise the concept of protecting pension contributions, show the tax relief element and total out-lay. (For example - if the client is planning to put 1,000p.m. into their pension, position re-directing 100 of this into an Income Protection policy so that the out-lay to the client is the same.

8 Investment Clients Clients who have invested with you are putting aside money they don t need to live on right now to build up their nest egg for their future. Not accessing this money before time is dependant on their ability to continue to earn an income. Protect their investment by putting Income Protection in place. Sales Approach: Arrange a meeting with the client to discuss how their investment is progressing. At this meeting position Income Protection as Asset Protection. Explore how they would keep this investment asset in place if they became unwell and couldn t work. Divesting assets in a unplanned way could expose them to surrender penalties and/or tax implications.

9 Life Cover Only Clients Life Cover only covers you if you die prematurely but thankfully medical advancements means that more people than ever are surviving serious illnesses. However they may not be able to carry out the job they did before and their earning ability may be affected. Ensure they have the right balance of protection cover in place between Life cover and living benefits. Sales Approach: Arrange a review meeting to assess if their life cover can be restructured based on price movements in the market. At this meeting, explore the concept of living benefits, i.e. how they would survive a serious illness financially. Look to re-direct some of their premium spent on life cover to Income Protection. Have cost options prepared for this meeting so that Income Protection is positioned at affordable. (Our ready reckoner is available to you and designed for this purpose.)

10 Mortgage Protection Clients The minimum level of cover if you have a mortgage is decreasing life protection. However, if someone cannot work due to ill-health, the mortgage payments still have to be paid so Income Protection is essential in conjunction with the mandatory life cover requirement. Sales Approach: Arrange a review meeting to assess if their life cover can be re-structured based on price movements in the market. Equally a couple could have started a family so the meeting could be arranged to discuss family protection in general. Explore the mortgage repayments per month and ask the client s what plan they have in place to secure mortgage repayments if they couldn t work due to ill health. Have cost options prepared for this meeting so that Income Protection is positioned at affordable. (Our ready reckoner is available to you and designed for this purpose.)

11 Thank you Friends First Life Assurance Company Ltd., is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.