Being a speed boat, not a tanker, can help small income protection providers innovate, but it is not an easy environment in which to bring new ideas to market, Iain Clark has said.
The new marketing and distribution director for IP specialist British Friendly, said: “I like to think that we are a speedboat not a tanker and this helps us to go to market more quickly, but there is a lot of conformity in the market place.
“For us to get out to a broader reach in the intermediated market, you have to be on various panels. But if you do not conform to the majority of providers out there, it is difficult to be quoted in front of the customer, even if your product may be more suitable.”
He said partly this was because, with the influx of UK and European legislation. “Nobody wants to be too clever. If you are so different to the rest of the market, you are taking a big chance on your profits,” he said.
However, Mr Clark, who until earlier in 2015 was working for life and pension provider LV=, said the mutual society would be enhancing its IP product in 2016, making it more relevant to cover different sectors of the population.
In November, British Friendly improved the way it prices Body Mass Index, so it is now done case by case. It also put its suite of IP products on the adviser-facing Webline portal.
Adviser view
Kesh Thukaram, owner of East Sussex-based Best Insurance, said: “The improvements British Friendly has made to its systems and sales process makes it more adviser friendly than ever. “British Friendly already has the product and claims rates to make it very attractive as an income protection provider and the added flexibility and efficient sales process will help us to manage client expectations better and get them on risk quickly.”
