"While it’s obviously up to each individual adviser to maintain a good level of customer contact, any help from providers and the rest of the industry with the ongoing adviser-customer protection relationship is always welcome."
- Roy McLoughlin, Director of Strategic Partners at Cavendish Ware & Board Member of PDG
Launched in 2023, Guardian Financial Services’ (Guardian) Income Protection (IP) proposition offers cover for ‘own job’ instead of ‘own occupation’ as well as the option to add Children’s Critical Illness (CI) to standalone policies. At the time, Jacqui Gillies, Marketing & Proposition Director at Guardian, said “At the core of our design is the customer and what they should expect from an IP policy; namely, a definition that is easy to understand and pays out when they need it to.”
READ MORE: Guardian to launch Income Protection offering
Twelve months later, 44% of Guardian’s IP business is full-term, and 56% short-term. For customers investing in full-term cover, most were more than likely to opt for additional ‘peace of mind’ cover upgrades, presumably to keep up with expected pay increases. 52% of IP policies were bought as part of a menu plan.
Today, Guardian has begun issuing its first-ever IP annual policyholder emails. Every Guardian policyholder across all cover types will soon receive this email communication before their policy anniversary.
Policyholders will be prompted to check their cover by logging into their MyGuardian account or speak to a financial adviser if their circumstances have recently changed. This could include moving house, changing jobs, getting married, or having a baby. Notably, this email will also remind customers that any claim they make will be calculated on their annual earnings at the point of claim, not when they took the cover out.
Guardian noted that several advisers have been vocal about annual communications in recent years, to encourage better engagement with existing policies and proactive adviser contact with customers about their ongoing protection needs. Meanwhile, Consumer Duty has added fuel to the fire, pushing for advisers to have more protection conversations throughout customers’ lifetimes.
“We’re delighted to mark the one-year anniversary of introducing IP into our menu by starting to issue our annual policyholder emails. In these we remind policyholders of the benefits of their policy, such as Premium Waver which is included as standard, Guaranteed Increase Options and Guardian Anytime,” explained Rachael Welsh, Head of Marketing at Guardian.
“We’ve designed the emails to help educate and engage our customers by reminding them of the benefits and terms of their policy. All Guardian’s registered advisers have been sent a copy and we hope it is helpful to them, both in their ongoing client conversations and in creating more certainty at claim,” she added.
Roy McLoughlin, Director of Strategic Partners at Cavendish Ware & Board Member of the Protection Distributors Group (PDG), said “It’s great to see that the industry is starting to respond to our call for annual policyholder mailings.” He believes keeping customers informed and engaged with their protection policies is vital for improving trust.
“While it’s obviously up to each individual adviser to maintain a good level of customer contact, any help from providers and the rest of the industry with the ongoing adviser-customer protection relationship is always welcome,” he concluded.
