For Louise Colley, head of protection sales and marketing at Aviva and mum of four year old twins, striving to promote the need to have protection in place to safeguard family life is a passion.
What’s more, it is a passion she is keen to pass on, both direct to consumers and through the adviser community.
Put simply, Aviva’s mantra is: ‘every family deserves family protection’. “We believe every family deserves to understand the financial risks they undertake if they don’t have family protection in place” she explains. “Family protection covers all elements of protection products not just life insurance. While the focus of the industry has tended to be on the products, pricing and processes, we feel that this needs to change with focus on promotional support which really creates cut-through and creates consumer action.
She goes on to add, “Let’s be honest, financial services is a low interest category and we need to consider how we better engage families to even consider our products. After all, they tell us family life is so special, so it’s frustrating that in spite of this, 60 per cent of families have no life insurance in place. All our research shows us that it is family that matters most, but marketing has, up until now, failed to tap into that.”
It is this belief that rests at the heart of Aviva’s new initiative, which follows on from the TV advertising campaign featuring Paul Whitehouse, that encourages people to speak to a financial adviser about family protection. This next part of Aviva’s journey now looks at the ways in which advisers can open up conversations around the topic of “what makes your family special?”, switching the emphasis onto families rather than finances to really resonate with consumers.
“We recognise that people are not necessarily comfortable with discussing those sorts of worst case scenarios, whether that be critical illness or, indeed, death. It can be very difficult for advisers to engage with their clients on those subjects and it can seem awkward to broach,” Ms Colley explains. “That is why we are looking to help advisers work on the soft skills that can make that process easier. Whether advisers are new to protection or want a refresher, we want to give advisers the tools they need to start up conversations about family life, which they can then use to go on to those “what if” situations.”
Initial IFA feedback has been overwhelmingly positive stating once that conversation is underway, it is easier to introduce the idea of safeguarding that unit - particularly when families have also seen the TV advert.
“It is a really clever way of getting people to talk positively and consider these products in a positive light,” Ms Colley adds. “It is about changing the fundamentals of what we do as a business, looking at how we can engage more people and get them interested. We want advisers to be able to put that message across and do what is in the best interests of their clients. We believe protection conversations are easier when you understand more about your clients’ family life.”
When developing the TV advert, Aviva engaged with Grief Encounter, a charity which provides support for children who have lost a parent. Colley says:
“We wanted to better understand the true impact for a child who has lost a parent. This insight confirmed that having financial protection in place can make a terrible situation a little better. I remember asking Shelley Gilbert, the founder of Grief Encounter to explain the difference she saw in children who had lost a parent where no financial security had been in place. I have to say what we heard made us all pretty numb. I personally felt a real sense of frustration because if every parent knew and heard these stories they would take action. It was an emotional rollercoaster for the team. Many of us are parents ourselves. It certainly gave us renewed focus on putting the message across so advisers feel more compelled to advise on protection.”
Aviva now offers a referral to Grief Encounter for children of an Aviva life insurance policy holder, if that person has died. This will be applied to all claims regardless of when the policy was taken out. Colley adds “We genuinely care about family wellbeing – this support can provide some comfort when their world has been turned upside down. I know I’d want my children to experience the great things they do if the worst were to happen to me. They truly make a big difference”.
Aviva recently sponsored a Grief Encounter Fun Day where 50 children and their families visited the Olympic stadium. Ms Colley adds “Families were encouraged to write messages to the loved ones they had lost on helium balloons and released the balloons into the sky at the same time, with a minute’s quiet reflection. It’s these types of things that can make such a difference to bereaved families.”
While the focus is currently on promoting the need for protection, Aviva is also confident it has the right range of products available to customers once they have identified that need. First and foremost, it is very proud of its claims statistics.
“When it comes to products, consumers want simple products that do what they say on the tin,” Ms Colley states. “The key moment of truth comes when a loved one has to make that call to the insurer and make a claim”. She believes the claims history and statistics should be at the top of the list when selecting a provider. “We are hugely proud of the Aviva claims team. I know if my family ever had to make that call it is that team I would want my family to deal with. We call them the jewel in the crown at Aviva. Customers tell us that – it makes us all hugely proud.”
Aviva is also leading the way in the critical illness cover arena, having recently enhanced its proposition. It now offers a partial payment of 20 per cent of the critical illness benefit under the policy, up to a maximum of £20,000, if treatment is needed for low-grade prostate cancer or surgery to remove the tumour for CISB (carcinoma in situ of the breast). For CISB it offers the highest benefit based on the breadth of surgery options in the market.
“Many providers only focus on the type of treatment, not the diagnosis,” Ms Colley explains. “Yet only one-third of cases of CISB are treated by mastectomy, with two-thirds treated by lumpectomy. Aviva covers all surgical treatments including mastectomy, partial mastectomy, segmentectomy and lumpectomy, so there is no need to worry about the customer having the ‘wrong’ form of treatment to receive a claim payment.
“For low grade prostate cancer, unlike other providers, we cover all current recognised surgical treatments including hormone therapy, which other providers exclude. We therefore cover the widest breadth of treatments.”
“We know that dealing with the effects of surgery or treatment while balancing returning to ‘normal’ life can cause additional stress if there is the additional pressure of earning money to cover bills. By having the financial help this type of payment can offer, customers can focus on recovery, readjustment and also their family.”
Overall, it is this message of being able to focus on family that underpins Aviva’s approach to protection. It hopes that by providing advisers with the tools they need to start the conversation about protection with their clients, more people will take on board just how important this sort of cover is for peace of mind for the future. Colley ends “After all family life is so special”.
