Too little too late?

The protection industry is not a particularly gimmicky one but it does have its flavours of the month. Presently we are seeing a lot more emphasis on business protection sales and that perennial Cinderella of the protection world, income protection (IP).

When I first noticed this I asked several providers why these sectors were being targeted. Well, the apparent industry push on business protection would seem to be no more than coincidence in league with common sense. When times are uncertain people look to add more strings to their bows. Business protection products are undersold but are not a particularly hard sell and give genuine benefit to those firms that buy them. The only downside is that there is a cost of entry to this market in the skill sets advisers must learn in order to properly assess a company's needs.

IP, however, is a different kettle of fish. For years this has been an undersold product and there is now a real worry in the industry that this underselling could come home to roost if the economy heads south and general uncertainty increases. Swiss Re, for example, has used a large brush and painted the blame for poor sales across a large section of the industry.

Providers have been accused of not doing enough to clarify the products with Swiss Re going so far as to say that unless changes are made to the design, distribution and positioning of IP then the individual product could disappear from the market.

The providers are finally beginning to do their bit. The release of Real Life Cover by Fortis is certain to be the first of a slew of similar products into the market - if for no other reason than it is likely to sell rather well.

It now lies on the intermediary sector to up its game. On the plus side, it is likely to finally have the products to confidently sell but when times are hard, people need convincing if they are to pay for 'luxuries' like basic insurance.

All I can say is good luck. It may already be too late.