Ok, so times are tough and even the world's banking and insurance giants are not immune to total and...
Ok, so times are tough and even the world's banking and insurance giants are not immune to total and utter collapse. On the other hand, it is not the actual end of the world - the pubs are still selling beer and business continues. In COVER's case it's old business that is concerning us.
In the January 2007 issue of COVER we launched an industry-wide campaign to promote protection insurance to the general public, the result of advisers' voting taken at the previous Autumn's COVER Forum. The concept was simple: surely, it is not beyond the wit of the protection industry to agree on a common message and theme so a critical mass of consistent advice can be presented to the British public. It has, to date, not produced fruit, but at last someone seems to be taking a shot at actually making it happen.
There is almost universal acceptance among interest groups - industry, consumer and political - that the UK would benefit economically and socially from a greater take-up of protection insurance as the limitations of the Welfare State become more universally understood and accepted. When it comes to the benefits side of the equation, there is little debate on its limitations.
In addition, the overwhelming majority of the population does not have sufficient cover to bridge the protection gap, so there is a strong case for explaining the problem as well as advocating the solution.
Well, take a bow Tom Baigrie, managing director of IFAs Baigrie Davies and LifeSearch. His plan (see page 6) is breathtakingly simple and even in these rather torrid economic times seems to already have a few heavyweight backers. COVER will be giving the scheme its full backing and will be regularly reporting on its progress.
Ideally, a campaign like this needs to be owned by the major product providers working closely with the larger IFAs. Therefore the real proof of the concept will come only when a critical mass of providers and reinsurers are on board. This should include Legal & General and Aviva. It will be interesting to see if companies, in an industry not known for its co-operation between rivals, can work for the common good. I suspect it will be like herding cats.
