PARADIGM PROTECTION NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2023 www.paradigm.co.uk/protection
CONTENTS 4 Protection Market Update Paradigm Protect Mike Allison 8 Underwrite Me The Supermarket Sweep of Consumer Duty Phil Nash 10 Paradigm Q&A with Relationship Manager, Tom Hunt 12 Paradigm Consulting Financial Lives 2022: Key Finding from the FCA’s Financial Lives May 2022 survey Graeme Stewart 16 Guardian Consumer Duty brings opportunity to rethink the language of protection Rachael Welsh 18 Paradigm Mental Health matters Riona Mulherin 21 Paradigm Marketing Month: Did you make the most of it? Megan Chester
V1 AUG 2023 VISIT OUR WEBSITE OR CALL US TO FIND OUT MORE LOGIN.CIRENCESTER-FRIENDLY.CO.UK 0800 587 5098 OUR ADVISERS SAY THEY TRUST because... "Their handling of claims reflects well on the advisers who set up the policy, as well as the industry as a whole." “The claim stats speak for themselves.” “The added-value benefits are one of the best offerings in the marketplace.” “The product is easy to recommend to my clients because of its great value for money.” “Their people have always been kind, patient and helpful.”
Welcome to the Autumn Protection Newsletter! I hope you are all well, it’s certainly been an interesting few months. From a Paradigm perspective there are a number of positives to come from the first half of 2023, in terms of protection sales, certainly when compared to what appears to be a fairly flat market again. Clearly it will be interesting to see what the impact of Consumer Duty will be, as it will likely bring about an increased number of more in depth protection discussions with clients for many firms. We expect that more than ever, advisers will be helping clients to assess the risks they face by not taking out Life Insurance or General Insurance (GI) in connection with their mortgage or rent liabilities. Our GI business is showing some spectacular growth as a result of increased focus with member firms, and it is good to see the expansion of firms offering a facility to fulfil enquiries including the most recent Paymentshield foray into this area, which gives you the opportunity to refer business especially at busy times. Soft Skills Training As part of our ongoing commitment to learning and development for firms, highlighted by continual additions to our free CPD Academy and our online and Face to Face events, we regularly ask for feedback around what training needs you would like us to help you with. It is one thing looking at the needs of a client, but it is a totally different skill to tease out those needs by a range of skilled questioning techniques and understanding the best ways to keep clients at ease when doing so. We recently pulled together a series of sessions on Soft Skills Training in September in association with AVIVA, focussed on key soft skills areas, including the follow: The sessions covered areas such as : • Planning and preparation • Opening and objectives • Revealing needs • Presenting a solution • Objection handling • Concluding recommendations • Cementing the solution Many who have been in the industry a while will know that such training was more commonplace a few years ago than now, but the value in knowing the way to implement such individual areas is as important as ever, as advisers try in our efforts to “avoid foreseeable harm”. Feedback from these sessions has been exceptional, and we also had 97% of attendees say that they will now discuss protection more often with their customers as a result of attending. We were delighted to be able to deliver these webinars, and would like to give a huge thank you to Dan Wall of AVIVA for the content. It is interesting to see how many people in the feedback from the sessions have asked for more such training, and we will look at other areas moving forwards - so watch Mike Allison Director of Protection Paradigm Protect Protection Market Update 04 AUTUMN PROTECT NEWSLETTER
this space! Please do contact me if you have specific learning areas you would like to see us deliver. New Product Innovations The past 3 months have seen some new product innovations from Providers as we all, including the FCA, try to encompass the principle of offering access to insurance for more individuals. This is particularly evident in the growing incidence of type 2 diabetes; there are now 4.3m people living with this condition in the UK and NHS estimates suggest that that number could rise to 5.5m people, or about 9% of the population by 2030. Historically, the protection sector has shut out diabetics from vital critical illness cover (CIC), but that appears to be changing as protection market innovation brings about greater inclusivity. So, congratulations should go to HSBC Life UK who has expanded the availability of critical illness for customers with type 2 diabetes, a life-changing condition that is increasingly affecting younger people and which can lead to major health issues. Historically, the position of CIC and diabetes was very much a ‘computer says no' experience for customers. This exclusion was probably the right position in the past given the serious nature of complications that can result from the condition. As many will know, Type 2 diabetes is very much linked to an individual's lifestyle, and HSBC is recognising those customers who have made positive adjustments to tackle their diabetic diagnosis, such as being non-smokers, exhibiting good cholesterol levels, maintain good blood pressure levels as well as good blood sugar levels. The key to this opportunity for diabetics is HSBC Life UK's use of the enhanced digital underwriting process, available to Paradigm firms via our website or via our new strategic partnership with UnderwriteMe. Customers are offered a nurse screening, which is digitally analysed for an instant decision and real time updates on the screening's progress. This means no NHS records and no referral to an Underwriting team are required. Applicants can find themselves “on risk” for CIC within a quick three-day turnaround. Our new partnership with UnderwriteMe will give you access to the tool for free, and the full support of the UnderwriteMe Team. You can find out more about the tool here {link to mailchimp email?}, or you can watch 20 minutes from the latest Protection webinar they supported here. Product innovation hasn’t stopped there this quarter, with Zurich having announced changes and enhancements to their CIC. It has added a children's cover package that has been decoupled from adult cover. They have introduced a "market first" optional pregnancy and early childhood module that policyholders can add or remove for those planning to start, or add to, their family and dovetails with the FCA’s requirements on Price and Value to help ensure clients are only paying for the cover they receive. More details about this can be found on my latest Paradigm Insights video here , with Tim Lewis, Senior Product & Innovation Manager at Zurich. MetLife have also focussed on children, recently adding ChildShield to their product portfolio. The product is aimed addressing current gaps in the market and offers advisers the opportunity to add a standalone product covering children - aged up to 23 - for accidents and serious illness, including stepchildren and children who no longer live within the same household, designed to "complement" traditional protection products. The non-underwritten product includes cover for accidents such as broken bones or a 24-hour hospital stay, through to serious conditions including bacterial meningitis, cancer and benign brain tumours. 05 AUTUMN PROTECT NEWSLETTER Continued on next page...
Whilst it is encouraging to see innovations of this nature, it is an increasingly important point that people exposed to having access to products from an early age can take the need for any form of financial support at a time of need more seriously than those who have not had exposure. It’s almost certainly in the thoughts of those innovating in this space that by offering more cover to younger people they may better understand the value of Life, CIC, PMI or value-added benefits, and therefore will have a greater propensity to purchase similar products in the future. It is definitely worth looking at the products available for younger age groups and then planning a strategy to develop that demographic. We hear so much about intergenerational planning and there are products in a Life Insurance “suite” to support it, but it is definitely an underused method despite the importance of forming relationships with younger generations to protect assets that are of intrinsic value to many wealth firms. Charity support for younger lives Before leaving the subject of younger lives, I would like to offer thanks to Guardian who recently held a charity event in London in support of Young Lives vs Cancer. Guardian funded some research which showed that the cost of having a child who has been diagnosed with cancer; families were paying on average, £700 extra per month because of cancer during a child or a young person’s treatment. At a time where their focus should be on getting through treatment, families are forced to confront the additional financial burden they need to pay out not including the penalising effect it has on income for both parents (especially if there is more than one child in the family). The charity supports families who are affected both immediately and long term. You can read the research here which may be a useful reference when talking to families about the devastating financial effect of cancer, and if any firm is looking to support a charity, please do consider this one. As we hurtle towards the last quarter of the year, I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for your continued support of our protection proposition as well as the wider Paradigm offering. We continue to strive to offer what we believe to be the broadest DA proposition available, including core products and new, innovative partnerships such as UnderwriteMe and Marsh Commercial for Professional Indemnity insurance. We have several upcoming face to face events and webinars that will offer you valuable insurance CPD, an opportunity to learn and to understand more about changes in the market. All sessions are free to attend, please click here to find out more and register – we look forward to hopefully seeing you there! As always, if there is anything we can do to help you in the protection space, whether that is writing more business or referring them to our trusted signposting partner, Assured Futures, please get in touch on 0330 053 6061 (option 3) or email [email protected]. 06 AUTUMN PROTECT NEWSLETTER
This one-application-for-all enables you to quickly compare fully underwritten premiums and terms for multiple products from 8 leading providers by only ever entering the client’s details once. You can then recommend with complete clarity and put the client on risk with multiple providers with a single submission. When it comes to adviser portals, there’s no comparison. www.underwriteme.co.uk This information is for authorised intermediaries only and should not be presented to, or relied on by, retail customers. It is approved and issued by UnderwriteMe. UnderwriteMe Limited (No 07912813) is registered in England and Wales. Registered office; Tower Bridge House, St Katharine’s Way, London, E1W 1BA. UnderwriteMe Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom (Reference Number 592244). One system. One login. One application. Sign up today for free or join a 30 minute demo held every MonFriday at 12pm. Visit us at www.protectionplatform.co.uk Where quotes are underwritten not underestimated.
The price of protection products could fall into the spotlight more than ever as Consumer Duty sweeps closer. At its basic level, Consumer Duty is all about going back to and reinforcing the basic principles of marketing; that everything starts with a thorough understanding of the customer. Whatever product or service we are offering, Advisers and Insurers need to acquire a deep knowledge of the customer needs and understand what is the problem we are trying to solve? A protection product solves the financial problems people might face following illness or death by providing an income or lump sum to replace lost salaries and/or to pay off debts or cover commitments. But that deep knowledge of the customer goes beyond “the payout”. It also tells us that most people want products and services that are easy to understand, simple to administer and are transparent when it comes to prices and charges. Customers don’t like surprises. For example, a product that ends up not covering them for a condition they thought was included. Or a product that ends up costing them more than they expected it would. The latter “Price Shock” was the trigger that led us to launch UnderwriteMe’s Protection Platform way back in 2012. A time before Consumer Duty, when we were still living in the world of “Treating Customers Fairly” (TCF). Concerns about how the industry quoted the price of protection products and then went onto underwrite applications and potentially disappoint the customer with a price increase, led our founders to ask whether there was a different and fairer approach. Let’s put it into perspective, imagine going into your local supermarket for your weekly shop. You wander around the aisles to fill your basket and head to the checkout with a pile of groceries. How would you feel if the checkout person, then told you that a quarter of the items, you’d stashed in your basket were incorrectly priced on the shelves and were in fact more expensive due to your personal circumstances? Would you feel like the store had mislead you? Depending on your budget you might have to put some items back. Whilst this scenario, hopefully, doesn’t happen that often in supermarkets, it was happening routinely in the protection industry a decade ago. Advisers would meet with a customer and then go to one of the industry portals and request a quote. The list of quotes returned by the portal, with the cheapest at the top, would all assume the client was accepted at standard rates. Even if the adviser was aware of a health condition in their client’s history, they wouldn’t be able to use that information to get a more exact price. Once sent in and underwritten the correct price could come back higher. Still a disappointment for the client even if the adviser had forewarned them of the possibility. A price shock. We developed UnderwriteMe’s Protection 08 AUTUMN PROTECT NEWSLETTER Phil Nash Director of Sales Underwrite Me The Supermarket Sweep of Consumer Duty
Platform to put an end to these price shocks. Fully underwritten quotes up front give clients more certainty that the price on the quote will be the price they will pay when their policy goes live. Fast-forward a decade and our approach at UnderwriteMe fits the new principles of Consumer Duty perfectly. Specifically, the FCA were concerned about products and services which aren’t fit for purpose or do not represent fair value. A failure in these two areas can lead to eroded consumer trust and consumer understanding. The key thrust of Consumer Duty is to fix these failures. We’re protecting advisers from failing to represent fair value by giving them fully underwritten quotes. It makes it easier for advisers to fully explain exactly what effect health and medical evidence has on the price. And when it comes to deciding whether a product is fit for purpose advisers can assess the quality of the product on Protection Platform at the same time. Continuing with the supermarket analogy, if a customer bought a pot of yoghurt and then later discovered it was chocolate mouse they’d be concerned about the poor packaging or labelling. We’re allowing customers to assess the quality of the product as well as the price before they buy. Allowing both quality and price assessment in one location is vital as we go into the new era of Consumer Duty. It also gives advisers evidence for their own records too. We believe the fully underwritten quotes provided by the Protection Platform, together with all the product and information and documentation available provides a solution to the FCA concerns around eroding customer trust and understanding. Indeed, it should mean we can better gain and maintain customer trust in future. No unexpected premium hikes, no unexpected product features, no unnecessary calling around providers to see what’s going on. It instantly shortens your pipeline and gives you the information the customer will need. When customers get to checkout, they’ll find everything in their basket is correctly priced and the product is as expected. we have thoroughly enjoyed producing IPAW over the last couple of years. From a somewhat homemade production the first year to a much more professional effort in 2022, we can’t wait to share our plans with you. One of the biggest highlights from IPAW in the last two years has been the way that it has united the industry and elevated the noise around IP. Sharing conversations with people who embrace the content and learning we are offering enough to change their way of working and see the results is hugely rewarding and see IP sales heading in the right direction is the reason we’ll keep doing what we’re doing. #LetsALWAYSTalkIP 09 AUTUMN PROTECT NEWSLETTER
What made you get into financial services? I left school after my GCSEs and got a job in a local pub. Without any real career prospects, I chose Financial Services as it was something I thought I could excel in, and I’m still here 8 years later. Coming into this industry and being able to support so many advisers, and ultimately their clients, has been a brilliant decision. I’m really pleased to have this level of experience in our market space before I have reached 30! What made you join Paradigm after working for a bank? Prior to working at Paradigm, I worked at Nationwide. This gave me a solid grounding and some fundamental knowledge of the financial services industry. However, moving into the intermediary sector was what I was mainly interested in and Paradigm was the perfect route for me to start that transition. In addition, Paradigm have a sterling reputation within the intermediary market, not least for their transparent approach and unique engagement style, which really aligned with my personal strengths and values. Give us an overview of your role at Paradigm? Primarily, in my role as a Relationship Manager, I am responsible for maintaining and enhancing relationships with existing Paradigm member firms and bringing in new Directly Authorised firms to Paradigm Q&A with Relationship Manager, Tom Hunt 10 AUTUMN PROTECT NEWSLETTER within my region. I assist firms across all areas of financial services, including Investments, Pensions, Mortgages, Protection and Compliance. During my early days at Paradigm, it was always our unique profit share scheme that would initially draw firms towards Paradigm, but as I have grown into my role I have discovered the importance that adviser firms place on the additional support that I can provide, from regulatory support, business development support, technology and software guidance, and problem solving. What has been the biggest challenge the industry has faced during your time in financial services? During my relatively short period of time in the industry, one of the greatest changes and therefore challenges I have seen has been in the Buy to Let market. A continuous onslaught of tax hikes, rule changes and regulatory changes has made Buy to Let lending much more difficult and has also put off a large number of landlords. I have been able to work closely with numerous firms during these difficult periods to come up with alternative solutions for themselves and their clients to make BTL business more lucrative and of course our mortgage helpdesk team can also support with complex BTL cases that you may be struggling to place. What’s your favourite thing about working for Paradigm? I have great variety in my role. I am still relatively early in my financial services career, so having this variety helps me grow my knowledge in all areas. Paradigm have been hugely supportive from an educational perspective too, since I joined, I have completed CeMAP, CeRER and most recently my DipFA qualifications; none of which would’ve been possible without the support from Paradigm. Tom Hunt Relationship Manager Paradigm
11 AUTUMN PROTECT NEWSLETTER What three items would you take with you to a deserted island? A Satellite phone linked to the UK police so I can be rescued (no need for the other 2!). What do you think is Paradigm’s greatest strength? Our loyalty to members and our transparent approach are the two things I always receive positive feedback on. Too often in this industry I come across firms who have been stung previously by networks or clubs, leaving them with a sour taste and a lack of trust for distributors or support service providers. However, being able to be totally open and transparent with firms about the level of service they can expect from us, and that they truly are getting the best deal possible, is fantastic and really helps to regrow that trust. I love that we get to know each individual firm and their advisers personally, I am really lucky to have made some strong friendships while working at Paradigm. What’s one thing you’re really good at? In my personal life, gaming, I have always been a keen gamer and I don’t see that stopping any time soon! In my professional life, I feel I have a great ability to adjust and adapt based on who I am speaking with, understanding their needs and providing solutions. I thrive on problem solving and dealing with challenging situations; it is a fantastic feeling to resolve a problem for one of our members, further cementing our relationship with them in the process! If you could encourage advisers to do one thing what would that be? Don’t be afraid of technology. Utilise what is available, find software that suits your business model and embrace the benefits that it can give you. At Paradigm we partner with a number of market-leading technology companies in order to offer our firms great deals on innovative tools that can genuinely add real value to your business and save you time too. What do you most enjoy about our industry? Although Financial Services is a huge industry, it feels like between colleagues and industry professionals, we are one large family, working together to deliver excellent outcomes for consumers. It certainly feels that way working for Paradigm. What is the best advice you have ever received? Ever loved someone so much, you’d do anything for them? Make that person yourself.
Introduction On the 26th July the FCA published their Financial Lives 2022: Key findings from the FCA’s Financial Lives May 2022 survey. The FCA commented: “The survey takes place approximately every 2 years and is designed to provide longer-term trend data. Our third Financial Lives survey was conducted largely in May 2022. In this report, we compare the results with those from 2 previous surveys in 2020 and 2017. We also draw on a short survey conducted in January 2023 that focused on the impacts of the rising cost of living on people around the UK.” We believe this will be of interest to many firms, and especially perhaps to vulnerable client champions, and we provide a brief summary of the findings below. The fieldwork: The fieldwork for the survey took place between 1st February 2022 and 6th June 2022. Over 60% of the 19,145 survey respondents completed it in May 2022. Results showed that the financial circumstances of adults around the UK worsened in the six months to January 2023: • 77% (40.9m) of UK adults felt that the burden of keeping up with their domestic bills and credit commitments had increased. • 70% (33.1m) had seen their financial situation worsen. • 71% (26.9m) either had no disposable income (15%) or had seen their disposable income decrease (56%). • 29% (15.3m) had seen their unsecured debt increase. • 29% of adults with a mortgage in May 2022 and 34% of those renting in May 2022 had experienced payment increases- in total, therefore, 18% (9.6m) of UK adults had had mortgage or rent payment increases. Using Savings and investments to live on: • In the 6-months to January 2023, almost 6 in 10 adults (57%) had dipped into their savings and investments, including pension savings, or had stopped saving. Cancelling policies: • In the 6-months to January 2023, 3.6m adults cancelled at least one general insurance or protection policy, specifically due to the rising cost of living. Mental wellbeing: • 54% of UK adults reported in January 2023 feeling increased levels of anxiety or stress due to the cost of living, this rose to 85% of those who were not coping financially or were finding it very or quite difficult to cope. Consumer Duty The FCA highlighted that the Consumer Duty is a key tool for securing good customer outcomes as firms must act to deliver them. Customer Support: In the 12-months to May 2022, 84% of those who used customer support services in the last 12-months agreed that it helped them achieve what they wanted to do, but 16% said it did not help at all. Adults with one or more characteristics of vulnerability were more likely to report that customer support services did not help them at all. Financial Lives 2022: Key Finding from the FCA’s Financial Lives May 2022 survey Graeme Stewart Head of Consultancy Paradigm Consulting 12 AUTUMN PROTECT NEWSLETTER
Products and services that meet the consumers’ needs and offer fair value: Whilst over 2/3rds (68%) of adults said they always shop around for insurance products, far fewer (44%) reported doing the same for other financial products. When they shopped around, most found comparing products straightforward. Communications consumers find helpful and can understand. For 4.9m adults who had used provider communications to make a decision in the year to May 2022 the communications did not help at all. This was particularly the case for consumers with characteristics of vulnerability. Confidence and trust in financial services In May 2022, only 41% of adults, or 21.9m people, had confidence in the UK financial services industry, and just 36%, or 19m people, agreed that most financial firms are honest and transparent in the way they treat them. Frauds and scams: 6.6m adults were subject to potential fraudulent banking activities in the 12 moths to May 2022, while 4,7m received one or more unsolicited approaches about investments, pensions or retirement planning. Consumers with characteristics of vulnerability: Proportion of adults who show characteristics of vulnerability by the four drivers. Poor Health 2017: 5% 2020: 6% 2022: 7% Life Events 2017: 19% 2020: 21% 2022: 20% Low Financial Resilience: 2017: 23% 2020: 23% 2022: 24% Low Capability 2017: 27% 2020: 21% 2022: 19% PARADIGM COMMENT This snapshot of a very detailed report indicates that the FCA are likely to continue to question firms on their approach to vulnerable clients, particularly through the Consumer Duty lens. Other related compliance updates that firms may find useful: • 10th July Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS): Warning of increase in “hybrid” scams. • 11th July PS 23/8 Mortgage Charter: enabling provisions. • 18th July PS 23/9 Finalised Guidance on supporting customers in financial difficulty & Cost of Living: Good and Poor Practices in the General Insurance Market. • 26th July Consumer Duty and Vulnerable Clients: an important reminder ahead of the introduction of the Consumer Duty. 13 AUTUMN PROTECT NEWSLETTER What does the FCA mean to people: • 65% of adults were aware of the FCA. • 34% were aware of the Financial Services Register of firms. • 30% were aware of the FCA’s consumer helpline. • 22% were aware of the FCA’s ScamSmart website. In the foreword of the paper, Nisha Arora, FCA director for Cross-Cutting Policy and Strategy commented: “I encourage financial services firms to use these results to better understand the needs and experiences of their customers and target markets, as they are required to do under the Consumer Duty. Similarly, I encourage consumer bodies, the Government, policymakers, academics, other regulators and those with an interest in personal finance and the regulation of financial services to use the survey results.”
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The Consumer Duty’s requirements around clear communication – underpinned by the consumer understanding outcome – could give us an opportunity to rethink the language we use across the protection sector. On an individual level, it’s prompted me to think about the language we use today and how we came to use it in the first place. For me, it starts in my attic of all places! In a recent clear-out, I came across my university dissertation and gave it a quick reread. I was shocked to realise that university had trained me to write so formally. The topic of my dissertation was retail store layouts, and how that influenced buyer behaviour. Not exactly a topic that required the level of formality I'd written it in. Being customer friendly This led me to question whether there’s a mismatch in the language and communications skills being taught at university, and to many school leavers, and the approach we need for effective customer communications. Of course, graduates often then move from this academic language straight into a world of business language. In other words, you may not be encouraged to use ordinary language at all at these two key stages, or certainly not in terms of communications with customers. This quite typical career background is surely part of the current challenge. (I did avoid some of these pitfalls as my first boss/mentor always encouraged me to write as I spoke.) Over the years, I’ve heard talk and debates about using plain, accessible language. There are excellent communications consultancies that can help as well. And yet, when I go to the pub with my friends, it’s still quite difficult to convey exactly what it is I am marketing, or certainly to give an accurate picture of the industry I work in. They still view protection insurance as something that's too complicated, or not for them, or that won't pay. Can these objections be addressed with clearer, easyto-understand language? Even terms such as ‘sum assured’ or ‘benefit amount’, which aren’t even at the deeply technical end of things, are not exactly in everyday use. I am not convinced that the phrase ‘covering your mortgage’, which we hear in industry circles, is quite right either. ‘Protecting your family home’ sounds much closer to what families are concerned about. Now, I’m not suggesting we change the entire vocabulary – that would be an enormous task. But it’s been very interesting to consider communications in great depth given Guardian’s programme of work on the Duty. Detailed communications work to build on Every single customer or adviser communication has gone through an approval process. Everyone with a role in writing our communications is going through ‘clear language’ training. We’re introducing clear language champions in every department of the business and they’re receiving external training. This isn’t just in the obvious areas such Marketing, but departments such as Underwriting and Operations as well. 16 AUTUMN PROTECT NEWSLETTER Rachael Welsh Head of Marketing Guardian Consumer Duty brings opportunity to rethink the language of protection
We're also testing our terms and conditions (T&Cs) with both quantitative and qualitative research. We’re surveying 800 customers to test snippets of our terms and conditions and asking a smaller group of customers about our T&Cs one-to-one, essentially asking what they do and don’t understand. All of this will feed back into the next version of our T&Cs. We’re finding there are some limits. You do need a certain level of detail because protection involves a legal contract. There are many ‘what ifs?’ You can’t be too general. So, T&Cs will still be fuller and more technical than other communications, but they should still be much clearer. You are after all establishing but also communicating the legal position. More broadly, a lot of this work will, we hope, better equip our adviser partners as well. This can be in very specific ways. For example, we offer a ‘reasons-why’ tool where we have approved paragraphs about all of our covers that can be built into reasons-why letters and follow-up communications with clients. The latest set on Income Protection was produced with the Duty’s requirements very much at front of mind. A new foundation The Duty has given us a rationale and some significant momentum for change, and I also think we have an opportunity, as an industry, to be more ambitious. We see a huge potential benefit across the sector where, like Guardian, many providers will be reviewing communications and retraining staff. In the coming weeks and months, I would really like to see us all think beyond the written communications of websites, client documents and marketing collateral to challenge conversations, vocabulary and perhaps even the terms we use. And we may need to challenge some approaches that have been schooled and trained into us over the decades. Given our view that better understanding helps make the case for protection and, in current circumstances, helps make the case for customers retaining policies, a big improvement in communications – both written and verbal – is a really significant prize. We should reach for it. Find out more about Guardian here. Guardian Financial Services is an appointed representative of Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited. All products are provided by Scottish Friendly. 17 AUTUMN PROTECT NEWSLETTER
I’m pleased to be launching a new addition to our quarterly newsletters going forward, focused on all things mental health, with the ultimate goal of sharing ideas and insights which may help you support your staff, or indeed family and friends outside of work. In this edition, I’ll seek to set the scene, with future editions focusing on specific areas and sharing more resources. Unfortunately this idea behind this new addition to our newsletter has been prompted by a sense that mental health issues are getting closer and closer to home; at Paradigm, we have seen an increase in the number of people talking to us about their poor mental health and likewise, in a personal capacity I have seen this too. There was an article I read recently in Financial Reporter, whereby a survey by CoreData of 267 UK financial advisers found that 35% say regulations are negatively impacting their mental health, increasing to 52% of mass affluent advisers. It’s clear that there is a very real and concerning problem here, and it can be quite daunting if you don’t know where to begin. Understanding Mental Health Step one is to around better understanding mental health and what it actually is. According to the World Health Organisation, mental health can be defined as “a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in”. Mental health is as important as our physical health and can be intrinsically linked to this also, indeed physical health problems significantly increase our risk of developing mental health problems, and vice versa. So, where should I begin? During lockdown in 2020, I qualified as a Mental Health First Aider, and I have also recently completed a refresher course to ensure I’m up to speed with developments and aware of the correct processes to follow. This course provided me with skills that I’ve used in both a professional and a personal capacity, and would highly recommend the course to anyone considering it, especially if you are a line manager. The recommendation is having at least one for every 20 employees, and it’s worth noting that it’s expected this will become a legal requirement for firms of a certain size within the next 5 years. It’s great for beginners and I would recommend the Mental Health First Aid England course here. Is there anything within the Financial Services industry I can get involved with? Earlier this year, Paradigm were proud to sign up to the Mortgage Industry Mental Health Charter and this is again something I would recommend getting involved with. The aim of the group is to provide support to all UK firms operating within the mortgage sector, and there is Mental Health Matters 18 AUTUMN PROTECT NEWSLETTER Riona Mulherin Director of Marketing & Operations Paradigm
a simple charter that firms must commit to. Firms may wish to consider signing up and showing commitment to this agenda. If you haven’t heard of this, you can find out more about this important initiative on their website here. As you may be aware, next month it’s World Mental Health Day on Tuesday 10 October 2023. Perhaps you can find a way to open up communication on this matter in your office or amongst your team, even online if you are still working virtually. There is more information about this here. Doing our bit! Finally, you may have already seen but our chosen charity partner for our 2023/24 financial year is Mind – a truly amazing mental health charity who have genuinely helped save lives. We’ve done a number of activities over the year so far to raise money for this important cause, and for the week commencing 18th September, we undertook a huge challenge where several of the team collectively cycled 603 miles between all of us, the same distance as John O’Groats to Lands End, on an exercise bike. I think some of us are still recovering!! If you would possibly be able to consider donating just a small amount to our fundraising page we would be extremely grateful – click here to donate. Thank you! One last thing… I hope that anything we can do to support you and your team in this area will be time well spent. We genuinely want to hear from you on how could we better support you. Is there anything we could do more of? What are we doing right? What topics would you like to hear more about? What areas are you struggling with? We have a completely anonymous form that you can complete here and share your thoughts with us; just include your details in the box if you’d like us to follow up on this. If you have any questions, issues or would just like to speak to someone, please do get in touch. I am conscious that many people have their own mental health experiences, and some like to keep those very private whereas others are keen to share their experience. If you need someone to talk to about anything that is upsetting you, you can contact trained professionals at Samaritans 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can call 116 123 (free from any phone) or email [email protected]. If you would like to perhaps share your story or experience with your mental health experiences, please get in touch and we can see if this would be appropriate for a future edition. 19 AUTUMN PROTECT NEWSLETTER
We deliver better health, better value, better cover to your clients Read more in our 2023 Claims and Benefits report. *VitalityLife claims and benefits report, September 2023. Throughout 2022, we paid out a total of £96 million in claims across our Life Cover, Serious Illness Cover and Income Protection Cover. 41% lower mortality rates for engaged members* £60 million paid back through rewards* 1 in 6 Serious Illness Cover claims would not have been covered by a typical core critical illness plan in 2022*
We’ve been busy! For some time now, our marketing team have been hearing feedback from firms who are unsure about certain aspects of marketing, and didn’t really know where to get started. This seems to be further complicated by the fact that the advisers know they need to be aware of the FCA’s guidance around financial promotions and social media, which can make the thought of starting marketing your business a little daunting. You may have noticed, at Paradigm we declared August our ‘Marketing Month’! Over the month, we got our heads together to devise a way of conveying just the basics of marketing in an easy to understand (we hope!) format that breaks down what can be quite complex topics into smaller parts. We shared a wide range of resources all designed to help you to either start or enhance your marketing activities, and ultimately to drive better engagement and communication with your customers. Topics covered including how to get started with marketing, staying safe online, making sure your content is accessible to more people, how to improve your online presence including search engine optimisation (SEO), understanding artificial intelligence, forming a marketing strategy and lots more! We created guides, blogs and loads of short hints and tips to support these topics, all of these can be found here. Don’t forget, it’s crucial that you do stay aware of the FCA’s rules when you’re marketing your business. Whether it’s on or offline, to existing or new customers, you need to make sure you don’t fall foul of the rules. Paradigm can support you with ensuring that your financial promotions are compliant, click here to read more about this in our blog. We really hope that Marketing Month has helped give you some new ideas around marketing, and ways to catch your clients’ attention. We’ve tried to share some useful ideas and tips so that you can see the different ways you could put these into practice, and if you do, we’d love to hear from you! Please get in touch if you have any success stories you can share with us, it would be brilliant to hear what’s worked for you. Marketing Month: Did you make the most of it? 21 AUTUMN PROTECT NEWSLETTER Megan Chester Senior Marketing Coordinator Paradigm
www.paradigm.co.uk/protection/ 0330 053 6061 [email protected]
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