ProtectionMar 3 2015

Protection portals cite campaign success as enquiries rise

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Protection portals cite campaign success as enquiries rise

Two protection portals have reported enquiries relating to income protection quotes rose strongly towards the end of 2014, which they attributed in part to the success of the high profile ‘seven families’ campaign.

Towards the end of 2014 adviser quote portals iPipeline and Iress’ The Exchange saw a notable rise in enquiries, with the former seeing an increase of 5 per cent from November to January compared to the previous three months, and a 65 per cent increase on the previous year.

The Exchange saw an 8 per cent increase in income protection quotes in November and a 14 per cent increase in December 2014, when compared to the same months in 2013.

Broker London and County also saw a 3 per cent uplift in income protection sales in the fourth quarter compared to previous quarters.

Michael Aldridge, sales director at London & Country said: “We saw good sales growth for income protection towards the end of 2014 and we’re pleased to say it’s a trend that appears to be continuing into 2015.

“The need to raise awareness of the benefits of income protection is great and we hope that the high-profile campaign surrounding Seven Families is having an impact.”

Peter Le Beau, MBE and founder of Kent-based Le Beau VisageSeven Families said: “It’s encouraging to see any rise in the number of income protection enquiries and sales.

“While we can’t claim categorically that the Seven Families campaign has contributed to this, the coverage across media and social media of the campaign has, we hope, helped to engage people on the importance of this issue, prompting them to speak to an adviser and take action.”

Launched in November 2014, the charity-led campaign was set up to raise awareness of the financial impact of long-term illness and disability to support seven families across the UK who has lost an income without financial support in place.

A number of studies in recent years have pointed to a growing ‘protection gap’ in the UK, where individuals are more likely to have insurance for their pet than to protect themselves in the event they cannot work.

According to statistics published by Royal London in January, as many as 5.2m mortgage holders who earn an income have no plan or protection cover in place to cover their mortgage repayments if they become too ill to earn.

ruth.gillbe@ft.com