As the client is at the heart of what we do, we have taken a lot of time to build what we believe is the sector’s first vulnerability calculator.
We are very proud to say that we will be using this calculator for all business going forward.
It will significantly contribute to helping identify vulnerability and giving clear instruction to the adviser on how best to deal with clients identified as vulnerable, or at a higher risk of vulnerability, to make sure that the client is looked after appropriately.
As with most companies, Viva has always had a vulnerability policy in place, but we found that some aspects were very rigid with age being the main driver followed by major changes in client circumstance, while other factors were being left open to interpretation by the adviser.
In reality, this makes it hard to take into consideration many variable factors that have an impact when assessing vulnerability and so we have radically changed the way that we approach this topic to give it the importance that it should rightly have.
Scoring of vulnerability
Pilot results have validated this approach and we are pleased to say that this will be launched imminently.
There are now a series of questions built into our fact find, the answers to which will give a total scoring and will determine the outcome of how each client is dealt with.
Each question has a specific weighting depending on how important it is to the financial planning that is taking place.
These questions now include things like looking at the previous financial situation, if debt management was ever in place, third party involvement and if the client already has a lifetime mortgage.
No grey areas
The difference with this calculator is that there will no longer be any ‘grey’ areas of assessing vulnerability and each output will direct the adviser to a certain course of action.
We are very excited by this development as we are committed to our ethos; treating each client as if they were our own parents.
