The Intermediary –- May 2026 - Flipbook - Page 28
P RO T E C T I O N
In focus
Selecting the
right protection
W
hile everyone
does maths
at school,
very lile of
this relates
to everyday
life. Financial literacy in the UK is
worryingly low. 39% of adults, which
equates to around 20 million people,
don’t feel confident managing their
money, according to FinCap research.
As advisers, one of our key roles
is educating our clients on how to
manage their finances. A crucial part
of this is building financial resilience
to ensure people can protect the things
that maer most to them.
What matters most
Any new relationship should start
with a ‘get to know you’ conversation.
These discussions should not venture
anywhere near products. Instead, the
focus should be on the client, their
family, their dreams. What is their
life like now? What do they hope to
achieve in the next five years? What
ambitions do they want to fulfil?
These are central to your entire
future relationship with a prospective
client, with protection forming a core
focus, not being introduced as bolt-on
or aerthought to a mortgage or any
other investment.
There should be no pressure, no
rush. The idea is to get the client to
talk as much as they want to and for
you to listen. The more you can get
to know them as a person and what
maers most to them, the beer
equipped you’ll be to suggest the most
appropriate products for them and get
them to understand why protection is
so important.
All this should involve simple, plain
language that anyone can understand.
Our industry is filled with acronyms
and jargon that makes sense to us but
is completely confusing and alienating
to clients. Similarly, there is no need
to present clients with long and
complex forms. It is our role to take
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The Intermediary | May 2026
this pain away and make the process as
smooth and clear as possible.
NATHAN WOOTTON
is operations director
at Waddle Insurance
Financial resilience
All these initial discussions are
designed to show both you and your
client their end goals. To reach them
they will need to go on a journey,
which is unlikely to be without
its challenges.
Highlighting what these may
be, such as accidents or ill-health,
how likely they are to suffer these
and what they can do to mitigate
their impacts all help to shape the
protection conversation.
We believe education is a
crucial part of helping people to
understand their risks and building
financial resilience.
Shaping cover
Once you have a clear idea of the
clients’ life and what they want to
protect, you can begin to suggest
suitable products. To help bring these
products to life, which can be complex
and confusing, using real life case
studies can be very powerful. These
can underline just how common
illness and injury can be as well as
show just how important financial
support can be in times of distress.
Peer reviews have become an
increasingly important force in
everyday life. People check them when
deciding where to go to eat, where
to go on holiday, what car to buy.
They are largely seen as independent
and genuine. Sharing scores and
comments from sites like Trustpilot
can provide extra reassurance as well
as show you follow through on your
promises to customers.
Other claims insights can also be
compelling. For example, in collating
our claims stats for 2025 we discovered
that our average claimant is 48 years
old, a parent, employed and the
sole breadwinner for their family.
This underlines just how important
protecting their salary is as it not only
safeguards their future but that of
their children.
Sharing insights like this can really
help to underline the value of the
product and make the benefits feel
very tangible.
Advice for life
Helping clients to understand the
value of protection and select the
products that best support their lives
and dreams is only the first part of
the story. The crucial thing is to make
sure that protection stays in place
and remains relevant as needs and
priorities evolve.
It’s vital that the conversation
continues between advisers and
clients. Protection can easily fall into
the background or become forgoen.
In fact, almost a third of our claimants
in 2025 were at risk of losing their
policy, by leing their direct debits
lapse or considering cancelling
their policies.
Without being proactive, a
significant number of our clients
would have missed out on crucial
financial support to help them
through difficult times.
Listening is the most important
skill that advisers need. It’s that
listening which tells us about our
clients, their lives and what they
want to protect. It is listening to
their fears and reservations that will
help us find the right information
to ease and overcome these. And it is
continuing to listen once they become
a client that keeps that cover in place
and relevant. ●
