"The synergies and solutions that we can provide complement many accountancy and legal discussions."
Business Protection Focus, led by Stuart Halliwell, recently delivered its inaugural Business Protection Awareness Week. The aim was to raise awareness of the need, provide insights into various aspects of the market, and give advisers a greater understanding of these products.
READ MORE: How can we inspire more advisers to embrace business protection?
The biggest takeaway for me was that the opportunity in this very underserved market is vast; the sheer number of UK businesses, overwhelmingly dominated by small & medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is staggering.
We also have an incumbent government which – and I mean this a-politically – mentions growth daily, which hopefully should increase this number. And, as new artificial intelligence-led (AI) companies undoubtedly emerge, the opportunity is clear.
“There is also another paradigm shift; I believe lawyers and accountants are now trusting our profession more than ever.”
Various studies show that organisations often consult these two professions on business-related succession, and thus, protection comes into the conversation. Much of that advice can only be facilitated by us.
What you will also discover is that both professions want to provide added-value benefits to their clients – we’re integral to that solution too.
Accountants often talk about the risks of an SME heavily depending on either too few clients (sometimes called the 10% rule), but also on a limited number of in-house specialists. This is natural when a business is embryonic, but it’s risky to be heavily dependent on owners or select individuals bringing in most of the business. There’s a need for Key Person Protection.
What happens in the event of death to someone’s shareholding is another frequent subject discussed by business owners. Again, accountants will talk about succession planning, and we have a simple but effective solution too.
“The synergies and solutions that we can provide complement many accountancy and legal discussions.”
Don’t take my word for it, try and actively engage. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how receptive accountants and lawyers will be to collaboration.
Another great reason for becoming involved in business protection is a technical term you may not be familiar with, but will hopefully make sense upon reflection. I’m talking about ‘stickability’, which means that this type of protection usually stays on the books; persistency isn’t an issue.
Apologies for the amateur vulgarity of this new phrase (think Dr Johnson in Blackadder for those who know), but you’ll understand my point with any luck.
Business owners asking about personal protection is another benefit of entering this market. Notwithstanding other financial products, for those of you in wealth management or mortgages. So, if you don’t start to discover and create new relationships with legal or accountancy professionals, I’d be very surprised.
“If you’re new to this or have dipped the proverbial toe before, my advice is to consider this vast and lucrative (don’t forget stickability) business opportunity.”
Several insurers offer training and support for business protection, but industry experts will also gladly speak with you. Yes, you will need to undertake new technical training, but it provides diversity of advice to your business model.
