How many times have you come across the lines “it won’t happen to me” or “insurance isn’t worth the
paper it’s written on”? Unfortunately it’s a fact of life and is something that both providers and advisers
need to address if we’re to make any headway and bridge the growing protection gap in the UK.

The argument for income protection
It is arguably easier for clients to identify with Critical Illness policies as most people can point to a
relative or friend that has suffered from a life threatening illness, such as cancer or heart problems.
Have you or they ever considered the relative likelihood of being able to claim under each type of
product? You might be surprised at the results…

Coupled with this, have your clients ever considered the prospect of living off the State if they were too
ill to work? Do they appreciate the economics behind the Welfare State and the fact that we are
moving closer to the US model of self-provision? The lesson from our European counterparts
suggests their model is unsustainable – but even it was, it’s quite obvious that your clients would find it
difficult to survive on as little as £76.45 a week if they were too ill to work (this is the amount of State
long-term Incapacity Benefit payable to a single person after 12 month’s continuous incapacity).

Society’s increased reliance on credit is a burgeoning time-bomb, fuelled as a result of the buy now
pay later culture that has firmly established itself in the lives of many who aspire to a better way of life.
Yet many people still fail to understand the impact ill-health can have on their ability to fund these
commitments – without guaranteed support, many would struggle to meet even their basic needs, let
alone cover the direct debits being withdrawn from their bank account each month.

Many of us (along with our clients) now consider breakdown cover as an essential element of a motor
insurance policy but what benefit does this provide other than the reassurance that you will get from A
to B if your car breaks down? Even then, we still understand that it’s our responsibility to ensure
there’s enough fuel, water and air in the tyres to get us there. The challenge that you face is convincing
clients that they have adequate breakdown cover for themselves - and not just for the odd inconvenience
– but to protect their needs and aspirations both now and in the future.

Giving you the tools to sell
Helping us to overcome these very challenges are programs like UnumProvident’s Product Partner, a
point of sale tool that equips you with a highly valued income needs analysis tool. Product Partner
enables you to prepare a detailed income replacement needs analysis report for your clients. You can
tailor the reports specifically to your client’s needs, taking into account their eligibility for state incapacity
benefits, allowances for their dependants, employer sick pay arrangements and even existing
policies they may have. Product Partner can be used face to face with your clients and with a click of a
button you can graphically demonstrate just how difficult it would be to manage if they were unable to
work through ill-health. Currently there are over 1,200 Adviser firms using Product Partner to help their
client’s understand and appreciate the value of Income Protection.

If your clients can understand the need and value that Income Protection brings, then your job of
converting them to Income Protection is made just a little easier.

To find out more about Unumprovident’s Product Partner call the IFA hotline today on
0800 783 3282.