The PPP - January Overview

January Overview

January saw the last episode of season 6 of the Practical Protection Podcast, as well as the first episode of season 7. For those who missed them or would like a little reminder of what they were, this blog is going to have a little recap of both.

Critical Illness Cover Masterclass with Alan Knowles – S6 Ep9

For this episode, Kathryn was joined by Alan Knowles, Managing Director of Cura Financial Services; he also happens to be Kathryn’s husband too.

Critical illness cover is a type of protection that many people often don’t think about too much, thinking that ‘it won’t happen to me’. In this episode, Alan gives us a rundown of exactly what critical illness cover is, and gives case studies showing how it really can be beneficial if you were to be diagnosed with a critical illness. 

The case studies that Alan explains in depth are critical illness policies for:

• someone living with multiple sclerosis
• someone that had experienced a strong mental health history 
• and a case study of helping a person make a claim on their critical illness cover policy when they had been told they weren’t eligible.

Alan also talks about what it might mean if you have a price increase or exclusion added on to your policy, as these can be quite common if for example you’re applying with a particular health condition.

The Tables Are Turned – S7 Ep1

To kick off season 7, Kathryn and Roy tried something a little bit different. This time, they were in the hot seats, being quizzed about protection insurance and advice by special guest host, Setul Mehta. 

There are so many different topics covered in this episode, all of which are very important within the protection insurance industry! Kathryn and Roy talk about vulnerable clients. They explain what exactly is meant by that and the sort of things that could make a person financially vulnerable, such as having children or a mortgage, more people than you might expect could be classed as financially vulnerable.

Having confidence when advising can make a big difference on the products you arrange and the confidence your clients will have in you, but we see too often advisers who don’t want to step out of their comfort zone, and this can be where signposting to an expert in the field might really be the best option. Here at Cura, we think signposting can make a huge difference to a person’s protection insurance journey. We specialise in arranging cover for people with medical conditions, hazardous occupations or hobbies or extensive travel, we are well attuned to how difficult it can be at times to arrange cover for someone with a disclosure, especially if it isn’t something you do often. Over the years, we’ve come to know which insurers might be best for specific health conditions or the types of exclusions you might expect for a protection insurance policy.

Another key topic is the need for protection insurance qualifications. For other sectors within the financial industry there are requirements for certain qualifications or training which has to be done before you can give any advice. That’s not the same with protection insurance, but why? There are certain training courses or qualifications which cover some of the things needed, but that’s not to say everybody notices these. There are many people offering advice who have very little training, and that’s something that Kathryn and Roy both think should change. In fact, Kathryn now has her very own training course, Advice for Advisers, which goes through all of the training necessary to be a protection insurance adviser, and some things are relevant across the whole financial or insurance industry too.

Both of these episodes were so insightful. If you want to listen back, they are both available on the Practical Protection Podcast website.

Remember, if you have listened to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on the website, thanks to the podcasts sponsors Octo Members.

If you would like to know more about how to arrange protection insurance, take a look at Kathryn’s Protection Insurance in Practice course.

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The Practical Protection Podcast – Trusts

The Practical Protection Podcast – High Cholesterol