Apathetic protection industry needs ‘kick up the bum’

The protection industry needs a “kick up the bum” and a “spark of passion” injected into it if it is to address the needs of modern consumers, the Protection Review has said.

Some parts of the market have been accused of being apathetic while providers must also be more proactive in communicating with customers to maintain good relationships.

Speaking at the launch of The Syndicate, Peter Le Beau, co-chairman of the Protection Review, said although there was some positive work, not enough was being done.

"It is an industry that needs a kick up the bum," he said.

"It certainly does need a spark of passion and I don't think that in some parts of industry we've seen.

"There are some parts of the industry that have very interesting propositions, but I do sit in many industry meetings and sometimes a sense of apathy exists.

"So if people are really serious I think a commitment in money and also in serious brain power in communicating in a new way is important," he added.

Le Beau noted that the industry had problems identifying "what consumers want in the first place" and it was something that "we're light years behind other industries in, and that is a big concern".

He also raised fears about how providers communicate with their existing clients, suggesting many had not moved into the online world.

"One of the difficulties where companies leave themselves vulnerable is because they aren't having a regular conversation with clients," he continued.

"You sell a policy and think hopefully they won't realise they have it, the direct debit will go out every month and it'll stay on the books for a while, and that's not good enough any more.

"We live in a different world where in other industries people are talking to their customers on a daily basis - it's hard to do that in insurance, but particularly in an online world, we have to do more about communicating," he added.