In the early days after the announcement, we had a discussion with them on a number of areas, some they had considered, and some they hadn’t. What started as a “quick consultation” with the stakeholders has turned in to a very long one, potentially opening the number of topics for consideration further. I believe we shall know the full extent soon and then the work will begin with insurers and firms. Notwithstanding that, the market continues to move on. In general it seems to be flat, consistent with previous years. There is nothing as of yet that has got customers waking up in the morning with a desire to fully cover all of their liabilities with protection policies! Rumblings in the market for increased IHT Planning is a focus of any wealth firms (more of that below), and there has been a rising demand for information on unemployment cover – perhaps a feature of economic uncertainty brought about by the hikes in NI costs for employers. Again we are working on a potential product solution here too. One of the common pieces of feedback we receive about life assurance from various market studies on consumers is that it's percieved to be too expensive. The UK does in fact have a very competitive market despite the exit of AIG and Aegon, and coupled with competition as we all know, comes dropping prices. Mike Allison Director of Protection Paradigm Protect Protection Market Update 04 SPRING PROTECT NEWSLETTER Welcome to the latest edition of the Paradigm Protect Newsletter! As ever, we try to bring you some different perspectives via a range of topical articles from insurers. This edition includes a thought-provoking article from Lesley Wright at LV= GI about her rise within the Financial Services as a black woman. The article outlines what she feels has made her a success and how she is encouraging others to join the insurance world. We look at the massively important role of mental health amongst adviser firms and how, at Paradigm Protect, we are trying to help our firms support themselves and their employees to better mental health by developing our ‘Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub’, which you can view here. There is an interesting article about something that is often NOT considered when looking at Income Protection solutions for clients - the long-term effects of illness on financial wellbeing. I am sure you will find each of the articles of value in some small way at least! The Market In terms of the planned FCA Market Review, we are still not fully sure what the full scope will consider.
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