biggest success stories of getting younger and new people into the protection industry are from the firms that are looking to grow organically and use a referral system for family and friends .

It will give us the chance to create new business opportunities but , more importantly , it could give us insight into how we can reach more people .

The more people that talk about protection and how it can benefit your customers , the more mainstream it becomes . The more mainstream it becomes , the more people will start to understand how to access these policies and all their wonderful features !

For a start , if , as an adviser , you have a customer with protection needs , then you need to understand them and offer appropriate solutions . You cannot claim to be a holistic adviser if you only give advice on pensions and investments . Don ’ t get me wrong , your customer base may be older and have little need for income protection , but there could still be room for conversations about IHT liabilities and how a protection policy could help avoid any massive tax bills that may come in .

about protection and how it can benefit your customers , the more mainstream it becomes . The more mainstream it becomes , the more people will start to understand how to access these policies and all their wonderful features !

14 | THE PROTECTION ADVISER

As an industry , we focus heavily on marketing to advisers but , in my opinion , we need to change . We need to start creating marketing campaigns that go direct to consumers so they can see firsthand what is available to them . I feel that we do not do this because insurers cannot guarantee that the business will go their way and , rather than focussing on education , they focus on where they will be able to make the most money . Yes , they are businesses and need to make a profit , but the way we try to spread the message at the moment has its limitations , so we need to think outside the box .

With health , fitness and wellbeing being high on a lot of industries ’ agendas , we could be tapping into this to dovetail our key messages . Insurers have so many additional services now , such as mental health support , GP services and physiotherapy , to name a few , and we are missing a trick by not getting them in consumer-facing magazines , podcasts and even TV programmes . In my mind , there is just so much more we could be doing , but I appreciate it does take time and , more importantly , money .

L & G had its umbrella on the weather section of the news , and that is synonymous with my generation and those before me for insurance . Vitality has gone some way with their dachshund and sports stars in their adverts to promote the brand , but we need to build on this to get pertinent messages across to consumers through a medium that is relevant to them .

Insurers have so many additional services now , such as mental health support , GP services and physiotherapy , to name a few , and we are missing a trick by not getting them in consumer-facing magazines , podcasts and even TV programmes .

Insurers could come together with some of the industry ’ s other bodies to create content that reaches the people who need it most . We spend so much time , effort and money on creating really strong sales messages , but now we need to push them further , so they are not wasted , or get to consumers third hand .