The next challenge is how to keep that protection business on the books. While the majority of protection clients will continue to pay their premiums for the life of the policy, there will inevitably be a few who lapse, but this doesn’t have to be the case and there are things you can do to prevent this from happening.
The key to keeping policies on the books – as well as retaining clients – is communication. It is vital to keep in touch with your clients and with the life providers.
This way you will be able to pick up on early warning signs and will be able to spot if a client’s circumstances have changed.
Early warning signs could be a change of address, the loss of a job, or the life company notifying you that the client has missed a payment. Usually the sooner you are in touch with the client the more effective you can be in keeping the policy on the books.
The client will have taken out the product for a reason so the product would have met a need. By keeping in touch with the client, if their needs change you can help them to find a policy that is suitable for their new circumstances or it may be a case of just reminding them why they bought the protection in the first place.
By maintaining a relationship with your client you will be have a greater understanding of their priorities and the things that are important to them. Keeping in touch is not only good practice where life policies are concerned but also means that you will be aware of other needs that they may have.
The benefit to the client is that they continue to be covered for the vital events that may happen in their life; the benefit to you is that you are likely to become their first port of call for all their financial needs.
Jon Round is chief executive at First Complete
