On a policy where commission is paid over a four year period there is a risk that a client’s circumstances will change at some point during this period and if the plan lapses the adviser’s commission will be clawed back. At the moment, for many advisers in most networks, the first they know about it is when the money shows up as a debit on what they will be paid that month.
First Complete’s Lapse Early Warning System will produce a bespoke email for every member firm showing details of each policy that is in danger of lapsing. The information provided will bring together data from across First Complete’s panel of providers and will include: when a payment was missed, the arrears due, the requirements needed to reinstate the policy and the amount and date of commission clawback should the clients’ premiums remain unpaid.
The new system will also enable advisers to check on the intranet at any time to see a list of all policies at risk and the clients that they need to contact.
This information will also be pulled together at company and regional level, enabling First Complete’s sales management to fully and easily understand the lapse risks in each sales region and offer additional support to brokers where needed.
Toni Smith, sales operations director at First Complete, says:
“Our members work hard to ensure their clients have the right protection in place, but when circumstances change and policies get cancelled clients don’t always tell their adviser and that valuable protection can be lost. Our new Lapse Early Warning System means that our members are notified as soon as a client misses a payment so they can immediately contact the customer and find out what has triggered the change. In the majority of cases this simple, early intervention can stop a policy from lapsing.
“To have an online and email notification system like this working across a whole panel of providers is, we believe, a first for a network in the UK. This puts our advisers on the front foot and means they can quickly make sure that, where circumstances may change, their clients can keep the vital policies which are in place to protect themselves and their families.
“This is good for advisers, good for providers, good for the network and it could be vital for clients.”
