Looking at the bright side of life...

30th March 2009

Life assurance - is it the saviour of the mortgage broker? It has certainly been beneficial to many advisers to turn their focus to a product that nearly everybody needs but few people take out or ever review.

At a time when the number of available mortgage products is down by nearly 90% there are fortunately no liquidity restrictions stopping the provision of life assurance and critical illness policies!

Life assurance was often a corresponding sale made when your mortgage client secured their new borrowing, however last summer I read some research that suggested only one in five borrowers did, which contributes to the estimated £2,300bn "protection gap".

A side-effect of recession is that as protection products are often one of the first things to be cancelled the need for cover increases; while other people become more acutely aware of their own mortality and therefore more keen to protect their loved ones.

Now lead generators have enabled you to gain access to clients who are specifically looking to either take out or revise their life assurance.

From what Leadbay sees, the average cover required is just under £230,000, although those looking for 'whole of life' tend to want slightly less cover than those looking for term assurance. 26% of those looking for life also want critical illness, providing an additional source of income - both for them and for you. Those actively seeking advice on life cover have an average age of 43, and comprise 64% men and 36% women although 19% of applicants are looking for joint cover so you will have access to both partners.

Maybe, as lending returns, once you have gained access to a life client the process can be reversed and you can cross sell them a mortgage...

Notes for editors Leadbay forms a part of Add Momentum which launched in the summer of 2003. It focuses on delivering innovative services that are customer-focused and easy to use. Its ethos is to bring people and technology together; to help people to fulfil potential, achieve new things and make a real difference.

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