How to talk about the importance of critical illness cover

Outlining the importance of cover and the options available is one way for advisers to ensure they are providing the highest standard of client care. Clients who end up claiming on a policy are forever grateful to their adviser for broaching the subject.

Talking to clients about serious illness can be difficult but there are some simple ways to make the conversation easier and ultimately provide a safety net for clients, while at the same time allowing advisers to increase the business they write in this area.

Get personal

Tapping into clients’ personal circumstances is an easy way to impart the importance of critical illness cover.

Is a client buying a home? A critical illness policy could help to protect that home. Is a client building wealth for later life? A critical illness policy could prevent that from being eroded.

Is a client leaving gainful employment and going self-employed? A critical illness policy could fill the gap left by the loss of an employer’s benefits package. Does a client have a relative or friend who is battling a serious illness? Having their own protection in place is likely to feel more important to them.

Is a client expecting a baby? As well as being able to protect their family financially in the event they are diagnosed with a critical illness, the ability to add children’s critical illness cover can bring even greater peace of mind. A lump sum can be used to access specialist treatment, pay for additional support or enable parents to take time off work to look after a seriously ill child.

Challenge perceptions

Industry data shows that people are more likely to have car, home and even mobile phone insurance than they are to have critical illness cover. Often, this is driven by an ‘it won’t happen to me’ mentality.

One approach to help clients overcome unhelpful perceptions is to draw four boxes – ‘car’, ‘house’, ‘phone’ and ‘you’. Ask them to write a value next to each one. Which is most valuable and should be protected?

Real-life examples of family, friends or clients who have experienced a critical illness can also help to challenge perceptions. You could draw upon the experiences of ‘7 Families’, a charity-led campaign to raise public awareness of the financial impact of long-term illness or disability.

Draw on statistics

According to Macmillan Cancer Support, there are around three million people in the UK living with cancer today and this is set to rise to four million by 2030 and to 5.3 million by 2040.

Based on the latest UK statistics, around 385,000 people are diagnosed with cancer every year – that is one new case every 90 seconds. One in two of us will have cancer in our lifetime.

While cases are rising, the good news is that survival rates are improving, too. In the early 1970s the average survival time after a cancer diagnosis was just one year. It now stands at more than ten years.

Higher survival rates increase the importance of providing a financial safety net in the event of critical illness, not just death.

Ask the right questions

Providing details of what a client might receive from the state or their employer if they became seriously ill can be an eyeopener and underline the value of critical illness.

Without cover, what is the stark reality? Asking the right questions can highlight what might happen if a client does not have cover in place.

What is your back up plan? How long would your savings last? How would you feel if… you couldn’t afford holidays, kids’ birthday parties or had to scale back Christmas, or if you had to contact your mortgage provider to discuss payment difficulties or had your car repossessed?

Contemplating ‘what ifs’ relative to the cost of cover underlines the value.

Outline the benefits

Innovation in the critical illness market has brought many additional benefits to critical illness policyholders that are worth highlighting.

Products are increasingly flexible with the ability to add cover for children, fracture cover and total permanent disability benefit, for example. Cover can be adapted to suit a client’s needs and budget even during the term of the policy.

Protect privacy

Many people do not like to talk about their medical history and some may find it distressing, whether related to mental health or a physical health condition like cancer or a heart attack.

We have three options to help people apply in the way they find most comfortable. The quickest way to apply and get a decision is for the adviser to take the client through our interactive online application.

Those who do not want to discuss their medical history with their adviser can use our delegated underwriting option whereby they answer the questions themselves online. A third option, for very vulnerable customers, is a data capture form, which can be filled in and sent to the adviser.

Get social

Extending your reach through social media can help to generate new opportunities. Social media provides an opportunity to talk to clients, their friends and families.

Linking to industry and press content on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn is a great way to demonstrate expertise and engage with new and existing clients.

Critical illness cover is more affordable for younger generations and a social media presence can boost engagement with this demographic.