The Practical Protection Podcast

Hi, everybody, instead of doing a health deep dive, Alan had the great idea of doing an episode on being imaginative with client recommendations. There are lots of ways to build protection recommendations, a lot of the time it’s straightforward, but sometimes getting creative is necessary. I would like to make sure I’m clear that being creative must still be compliance approved!In this episode I am giving you insights into the following areas and some examples of the insurances that are set up this way.The key takeaways:Decreasing term insurance vs family income benefitWays to address delays with GPs and medicalsSplitting critical illness across multiple providersJoint Life Second Death vs Single Life policiesLife of another cover for non-UK residentsLayering income protection policiesInsurance solutions for gift planningAlan will be back with me next time for a deep dive into a medical condition and how it’s underwritten for protection insurance. We are always happy to take your suggestions on what to cover so please feel free to fire over any areas that you would like us to go into.Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors PlannerX.

Hi everyone, Alan is back with me and this time we are focusing on coeliac disease. A lot of people think of gluten when they hear coeliac disease and have a feeling that all it means is don’t eat bread, pasta, etc. But, it can be much more than that when it comes to underwriting.A lot of the time coeliac disease is not a concern to insurers looking at life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection. However there are quite a few things you should check with your client about the condition, before you assume that their insurance applications will be accepted at standard terms.The key takeaways:Approximately 1 in every 100 people are coeliac and it is estimated that around 500,000 people are undiagnosed in the UKWhilst it is not common, coeliac disease can increase the risk of other medical conditions such as bowel cancerThree case studies of arranging protection insurance for people living with coeliac diseaseNext time I am going to be focusing upon critical illness cover being written into Trust. There are some specific technicalities at the point of the claim that are worth knowing, so that you can properly advise your clients about placing the cover into Trust or not.Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, we are closing off season 10 with a very personal episode, with Phil Jeynes joining me to talk about his experience of being diagnosed with bowel cancer. Last time Kate Baldry gave us brilliant insights into bowel cancer data and how out of all the claims she had looked at, no-one had anything in their own health or family medical history, that placed them at a higher risk of developing bowel cancer. Or no specific definite patterns that are currently being seen.Phil shares with us that this was his experience too. Prior to his diagnosis Phil had none of the traditional things in his life that would make him stand out as someone that might develop bowel cancer. It was a huge shock to him and his family, and Phil talks about what it felt like to go receive his diagnosis, treatment and how he is now.The key takeaways:Even if you don’t fit the usual checklist of someone that is at risk of bowel cancer, if you experience any symptoms it’s always best to see your doctor, just in caseIt can take a while for your body to recover from bowel cancer and Phil is still working on this 2 years laterPrivate medical insurance can work alongside NHS services to get you the diagnosis and treatment you need, as soon as possibleThis is the last episode of season 10 and there will be a little break while the summer holidays are with us. Do you have anything that you would like to see covered in Season 11? Get in touch and let me know!  Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, Lisa Balboa is back and she is sharing her insights into how AI is helping insurance across the world. I am quite a reluctant AI enthusiast as I’m always nervous it means less people involved in decisions, but Lisa brilliantly explains how AI is working alongside people to improve access to insurance and better claims experiences. With insights from Australia, China, South Africa and America, Lisa shares different approaches to insurance outside of the UK market. The key takeaways:AI can be used to proactively look through medical records of declined applications, to see if the ‘computer says no’ has been too harshAI can be develop and grow over time, so that it can make more automated decisions, freeing up underwriters to focus on the more complex cases AI can play a fundamental role in preventative healthcare by spotting early changes in health Next time I will be joined by Kate Baldry, Research and development underwriter at Hannover Re, talking about her insights into colo-rectal cancer.  Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, we have Alan Knowles back with us and we are taking a look at how living with chronic fatigue syndrome can influence your options for life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection. Chronic fatigue syndrome or ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis) is a long term condition that can cause significant tiredness, pain, brain fog, sensitivity to light and many other things. Approximately 1.3m people are living with the condition in the UK and it can alter your options for insurance, especially critical illness cover and income protection.The key takeaways:Most critical illness policies will exclude any claims for Total Permanent DisabilityIt is likely that most options for personal income protection will not be available, but there are alternativesTwo case studies of arranging life insurance for people who are living with chronic fatigue syndromeNext time it will just be me doing the podcast and I will be focusing upon protection and IHT case studies.  Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, I have Lee Doran from William Russell with me. As the International Underwriting Manager Lee has an incredible knowledge of how protection insurance works across the UK and the rest of the world. With 20 years experience as an underwriter, he has seen and heard pretty much everything.In this episode we talk about Ukraine, Russia, the US and how getting insurance isn’t the easiest thing to do. Lee takes us through how international insurance can make things far simpler for clients who move countries, if they need to make a claim.  We also take you through some key points about admitted, non-admitted, group and individual protection.The key takeaways:International protection insurance options change quickly depending upon the health, social, political, financial and environmental situations of a country.There are some countries where you will simply not be able to arrange protection insurance for if you plan to travel or live there. There can be super specialist options, but it is pretty much guaranteed that the policy will exclude claims that happen in the sanctioned/restricted country.A case study looking at quite a straightforward international client requirement, and another case study of a more complex situation.Next time Alan is going to be back with me and we are going to be talking about underwriting updates for cigarettes and alcohol.  Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, we are back with an insurance underwriting consideration that I cannot believe we haven’t covered before: high BMI! We’ve talked about BMI in the past, but not done a specific episode, which is so bizarre as it’s something that I think every adviser has come across at some point.High BMI affects life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection applications in different ways. Depending upon the BMI there can be ratings to the premium, the need for medicals, application declines and specialist insurers, popping up at different times. BMI tables are very outdated, however they are one of the simplest ways for insurers to get an overall sense of a person’s health quickly, which can speed up insurance applications.The key takeaways:A high BMI is linked to the development of diabetes, heart attack, cancer, stroke and many long term income protection claimsBMI assessments can work brilliant if you’re a white european male born in the early 1800s (aka they are very outdated and don’t take into account different genders or ethnicities!)Three cases studies of arranging protection insurance for people living with a high BMI, including someone with a BMI of 83I am back next time with Jo Miller from the Income Protection Taskforce to discuss what is going on in the IP world. I’m a huge fan of IP, it’s arguably the most useful protection insurance for someone working in the UK, and it can be moulded to meet your client’s needs in so many ways.Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website.

Hi everyone, we have our latest episode with our new regular contributor Alan Knowles giving you his insights from underwriting and advising. We are seeing more and more enquiries from social media influencers wanting to protect their income. It is really interesting with social media influencers as they are tending to reach out for support with their insurances, from the mindset that they need income protection. For a lot of people income protection is often thought of after life insurance and critical illness cover, so it’s great to see this difference starting to emerge.The key takeaways:Not all insurers are able to insurer social medical influencers from income protection, for the precise reason that they are a social media influencersSome insurers can consider applications from social media influences for income protection, but the occupation that they are doing might lead to a rating or decline of cover i.e. fashion model, stuntman etcA case study of income protection and a case study of accident and sickness coverI will be back next time discussing simplified income protection options, how they work and where they stand out for you and your clients.Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors Octo Members.