Advertorial
And of course the Ashes is still to be decided.
Hopefully with British success comes an increase in participation and that means a healthier, happier country – weather permitting of course.
The effect that sporting success can have on national interest in health and participation in sport is striking. For example, in the first full year after England won the 2003 Rugby World Cup, an extra 5,500 children between the ages of seven and 13 began to play rugby in England.
The following year it climbed by another 9,000. In the five years between 2003 and 2008, participation numbers in that age group increased by 78%.
For 13-18 year olds, the pattern was repeated, on a slightly smaller scale, as numbers climbed 49% in the decade to 2008.
But sporting success can also mean more engagement not only with the idea of wellbeing but also with financial protection too, something we have championed at Vitality since we first launched several years ago.
This focus on quality of life rather than illness and death has paid off, not just in the individual market but in the business protection market too.
Thanks to our work with advisers, VitalityLife has seen its business protection sales increase by 27% in the past year, from 3,014 policies in 2013/14 to 3,830 in 2014/15, representing a £4.9m increase in new annual premiums.
That makes it the eighth consecutive year Vitality has grown Business Protection sales.
Sales of Relevant Life Policy (RLP) - a cost-effective alternative or ‘top-up’ to group death in service benefit - also increased by 91% to 203 cases, up from 106 policies as at June 2014.
This suggests that, among many reasons, the idea of approaching Protection from a lifestyle angle rather than a ‘what if the worst happens’ scenario, really can inspire people to engage with these policies.
That’s why we feel it is a great opportunity for advisers to broach Protection with clients – it makes it possible to raise the issue of insurance using subjects that are of interest to them such as rugby, football or even the rewards, like cinema tickets, that they can gain through Vitality when living a healthy lifestyle.
During this summer of sport it seems like a perfect chance to use this approach with clients.
It does seem to be the case that in all areas of life, from politics to sport, people respond much better to hope and aspiration than fear. Giving consumers the chance to be rewarded for living well and emulating their sporting heroes and, in the process, protecting their family and finances is, we find, the best way to ensure people express an interest in Protection.
They are less likely to drop out of the application process at the earliest opportunity or cancel when their household budgets tighten and they are more likely appreciate the quality of what the adviser has arranged for them.
That is a very welcome outcome for all our customers regardless of how successful our teams perform this year.
My prediction? The Rugby World Cup is too close to call although New Zealand are clearly favourites but in the cricket England will win the Ashes back – just.
