Group should provide a checklist to help measure success of communications
By Lucy Quinton
An industry-wide group needs to be formed to drastically improve communication in the market, according to one industry expert.
Andy Milburn, IFA market manager at Royal Liver, called for a group to be set up because the industry made too many incorrect assumptions in communicating product changes to the market. He said such examples included the assumption that advisers always read the trade press and providers' emails and that network member firms always read their communications.
Milburn added: "We plan and do, plan and do, plan and do but don't plan, do, review and act."
He said a communications sub-group should consist of the Association of British Insurers (ABI), all providers, mortgage clubs and groups, IFA organisations and networks.
The group would give providers and industry bodies like IFAs and networks a checklist of things to do. "Importantly, the checklist would include measuring the success of communications - something we don't do as an industry at all," he added.
Leading industry commentators welcomed the idea. Roger Edwards, products director at Bright Grey, said: "Anything we can do to communicate is a good thing. However, as there are so many committees, we could spend the whole time being members of different committees. We need to be totally clear about what it would do and make sure the group is empowered to do it rather than just talk about it."
Nick Kirwan, head of health and protection at the ABI and chairman of the ABI Protection Committee, added: "I wouldn't pour cold water on this idea as communication in this industry is key and IFAs have lots communicated to them." He added that a message has to be received and understood, which is not an easy thing to do.
Kirwan said that when the critical illness changes were made earlier this year, the ABI sent a circular out, informed the regulatory body, informed the Association of IFAs, sent out press releases, organised briefings and conferences, spoke at conferences and wrote numerous articles on the changes. "Short of smoke signals and carrier pigeons, I'm not sure what else we could have done, so if there is a group that could help with that then it would be welcomed," he added.
Dale Tranter, research product developer at Sesame, said: "If we have representatives from distributors banging the drum then it can only help get the message across. There is no harm in planning ahead."
