Product innovation is a term I continue to hear regarding income protection (IP). What do we need to do as an industry to engage the millions of people with a pressing need and ensure IP sales gather pace?
A strong mix of IP products already exists but does this choice has become blurred by its complexity and simply become too daunting.
As a consumer surely the moment of truth is "will it pay me when I need it?". If there is any doubt then we need to ensure the consumer has a clearer understanding about claims track records and the cover options available to them. Will a simplified product - as proposed in Carol Sergeant's Review of Simple Financial Products - finally engage the consumer? Or could we argue that the concept already exists - ‘own occupation' cover couldn't be any simpler - could it?
The spectrum of IP products already available already provides cover for a broad mix of consumers - from the traditional office worker through to the self-employed and more unusual occupations. Such variance is straight forward enough for the financial adviser but probably harder for the consumer to understand.
True IP innovation could possibly come in the shape of ‘how?'. As an industry, we need to truly engage the consumer and really drive that education piece rather than assuming a ‘simple product' will achieve what is missing in the market.
Steve Wanstall is head of sales at British Friendly
