Advisers want products that fulfil the elderly's needs, says a Scottish Life survey
Advisers want to be able to offer clients more options in the long term care insurance (LTCI) market that fulfil the particular needs of the elderly, according to a survey conducted by Scottish Life.
The provider, which is planning to enter the protection market next year, had a huge response from advisers when asked which areas they would like its new product range to cover. LTCI cover came out as the main area in need of innovation.
Roger Edwards, head of products at Scottish Life, said: 'LTC is a hot topic at the moment. It is one of the areas in the market that has not done a lot over the last five years, mainly due to a lot of uncertainty created by successive governments saying one thing and putting in place uncertainty as to what the rules are. To some extent, that uncertainty still exists and until it is removed, designing LTC products that people want to buy is going to be difficult.'
The survey also revealed it is not just LTCI that needs to be evaluated. Advisers also called for the whole protection market to become more savvy.
'Because the protection market has taken off to such a large extent over the last few years, advisers are offering suggestions from all parts of the process. They are not just saying you need to develop a product that has got flexible options, they are also saying you need to look at how it is underwritten, how you quote for it and whether you can use the internet to get access to it,' said Edwards.
According to the survey, advisers are looking for a balance between flexibility and simplicity and also trying to make products more customer focused.
