The Practical Protection Podcast

Hi everyone, this is the first episode of our Mental Health in Life Insurance week. This week we are taking a deep dive into how mental health and insurance mix, why someone might need insurance, how they can get it, why insurers make certain decisions and what happens if you need to make a claim. We have a lot of industry experts joining us this week and we start today with Lynn Beattie aka Mrs M...

Hi everyone, this is the first episode of season 5 and we have special guest, Peter Hamilton. Peter is joining us to talk about the different roles that he has within our industry and beyond, to improve access to insurance and the reputation of the insurance world. The key takeaways: We can make real positive change by ensuring that reinsurers, insurers, trade bodies and advisers are involved in w...

Hi everyone, this is the last episode of season 4 and of 2021. In this episode it is just me and I am answering a listener's question. Setul Metha contacted me a little while ago and asked if there was a chance that I could show how much age affects insurance premiums. Challenge accepted! Now, I know that listening to me talking about lots of numbers and premium pricing, is maybe not everyone’s cu...

Hi everyone, we have Matt Rann back this week and we are talking about alcohol. With the run up to Christmas a bit of extra tipple is often on the cards, and whilst it takes quite a few units before insurers start to wonder about your liver, it can be quite easy to have a bit more than we expect at this time of year. This podcast is definitely not about telling you how much you should drink or adv...

Hi everyone, this week we have Jeff Woods from Legal & General, talking about their State of the Nation report. Jeff, Roy McLoughlin and I talk through the insights that the report gives into how small businesses are and are not engaging with protection insurance. We focus on areas of business vulnerability, the need for advice, the impact of covid and how businesses can plan for the future wi...

Hi everyone, this week I have Matt Rann back with me and we are talking about lupus . This is an autoimmune condition that can potentially have an influence on protection insurance applications. We are talking about Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), Discoid Lupus (DLE) and Drug-induced lupus (DILE). Lupus is a condition that usually affects women far more than men, with women nine times more lik...

Hi everyone, this week we have Andy Woollon from Zurich joining us to talk about intergenerational wealth planning, and how protection insurance is a fundamental part of someone’s financial plan. Following on from the recent Income Protection Task Force week, protection insurance and wealth planning feels like a natural mix. If you haven’t seen the sessions yet, check out Wealth Wednesday on YouTu...

Hi everyone, I am back a little earlier than usual with an Inbetweenysode. I think most people reading this will be aware that there has been a bit of a social media kerfuffle recently. There has been a lot of debate about whether or not advisers should charge fees to their clients and if commission-based firms are transparent to clients. This episode is providing a background to these different a...

Hi everyone, we are back and talking about blood cancer. In this episode Matt explains how the different blood cancers affect the body, which has really helped me to visualise what happens when they develop. The key takeaways: There are 250,000 living with blood cancer in the UK. There are different types of blood cancer: leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and myeloproli...

Hi everyone, we are back with an episode on skin cancer, something that we think is incredibly important to think about during these summer months. I’m sorry that the podcast is out a week later than usual, but with all of the mummy vs work juggling of the summer holidays, I needed to take a little extra time so I don’t burnout. This episode is so important and came with quite a shock to me. Matt...

Hi everyone, we have Jo Elphick from Legal & General joining me and Roy McLoughlin in this episode. Legal & General have been looking at how gender influences the way that people engage with group income protection insurance. The statistics are quite interesting! 65% of women surveyed believe that income protection is relevant to them, versus only 35% of men that felt it is worthwhile As w...

Hi everyone, I have Matt Rann back with me, fresh from his holiday in Madeira. I am a tad jealous, but I imagine many of you like me have had absolutely glorious weather this weekend, so I’m not feeling too bitter. Matt is joining me to chat about accessing insurance when someone is transgender. As with many things the insurance world has made clear growth in how it underwrites insurance applicati...

Hi everyone, we are talking about something that strikes dread within advisers... objection handling. Ok maybe not dread for an experienced adviser who has pretty much heard it all, but for people stepping into the protection space this can be quite nerve wracking. Roy McLoughlin is back with me and we are discussing the common objections that he hears within the pensions space, and how these seem...

Hi everyone, we are at the start of season 4 of the podcast and we are taking a deep dive into underwriting manuals. In the first episode I have Peter Maynard with me from Select X , talking about his career in underwriting. We chat about what an underwriting manual looks like, the types of risk that they include, how underwriters use them and the role of automated underwriting. The key takeaways:...

Hi everyone, this week I have Chrissy Clark from Health Claims Bureau with me, talking about rehabilitation services in practice. As an adviser, I know about the rehabilitation support that is on offer with group income protection, but do I really know what it is? When does it kick in? Who is actually stepping in and giving the support? What does the support look like? The key takeaways: 90% of pe...

Hi everyone, this week Matt Rann is back with me and we are talking about type 1 diabetes . We are chatting about what diabetes is and how it affects the body, the potential complications that someone can experience and the insurance underwriting terms.  The key takeaways: Type 1 diabetes can affect all areas of the body and there are specific complications that can occur in the heart, eyes,...

Hi everyone, this week we are focusing on group insurance and we have Katharine Moxham from GRiD (Group Risk Development) with us. Katharine takes us through claims statistics, how free medical underwriting works, the benefits that an employer can access through these insurances and much more.  The key takeaways: Group insurers paid £100 million in claims relating to covid in 2020. How group...

Hi everyone, I have Matt Rann back with me and we are focusing upon neurodiversity. We are taking a look at accessing insurance when someone has ADHD, autism, dyspraxia and/or dyslexia. A big part of this session is focused upon adviser skills and responsibilities, to ensure that clients are supported. We also talk about potential underwriting questions and how insurers can take steps to improve t...

Hi everyone, a slight change of schedule this week as we bring to you something a little different to our usual format. Last week I chaired a panel discussion with the ISC Group , focused upon 'Understanding the Menopause' along with Sian Fisher , CEO at the Chartered Institute of Insurance ,  Helen Dick , Senior Manager Underwriting & Claims Strategy at Scottish Widows and  Christin...

Hi everyone, this week we are focusing on bowel cancer. This is a topic that is very close to Matt’s heart as he was diagnosed with Stage 3 bowel cancer some years ago.  Matt is sharing his experience of spotting the signs of bowel cancer, pushing for extra medical checks and the time that he learned of his diagnosis. We then talk through the treatments that he underwent and go through some m...

Hi everyone, this week Roy is having his first solo hosting on this podcast, interviewing Lee Robertson from Octo Members . Lee and Roy have an extensive chat about wealth management, protection insurance, signposting and more. Lee has built a platform that allows advisers, from many areas within financial services, to join together to share their knowledge. This private community is focused upon...

Hi everyone, this week we are back to protection insurance underwriting and the focus is upon endometriosis. This is a condition that is far more common than you think and with half of an adviser’s clients being female, one that we feel is good to know about. In most cases endometriosis will have little impact upon the options available for protection insurance, but there are key questions that yo...

Hi everyone, on this episode Andrew Montlake of Coreco , is joining us to chat about mortgages. We are talking about the need to discuss protection insurance, when a mortgage is being arranged. Andrew is the Chairman of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) and brings a very open mind over how mortgages and protection should mix. Amongst other things, we are discussing how the current e...

*** Disclaimer: In this episode we are going to be talking about mental health conditions and in particular suicidal thoughts and attempts . Please be aware that some people may find some of the content upsetting.*** Hi everyone, today Matt Rann is joining the episode and we are talking about mental health. With everything that is going on in the world with the coronavirus pandemic, mental health...

Hi everyone, today I have with me Helen Croft. She is the Head of Underwriting Strategy at AIG and is talking all about covid.  We are chatting about why covid has meant that underwriting of insurance has had to change this past year, why covid is such a serious risk and hopes that we may start getting back to normal around Easter time. The key takeaways: Why covid is presenting as such a big...