CIExpert has moved into the income protection space with the launch of a knowledge centre on its website.
The company, which until now has been known for its independent critical illness cover comparison tool, has announced that in response to market demand its Insight Zone will now include income protection information.
The Insight Zone currently covers critical illness and life policies but advisers will now also be able to find key information on all aspects of income protection policies.
CIExpert director Alan Lakey noted that the move was brought forward in response to the recent launch of an income protection product from life and protection business Guardian.
“For a few years now we have been having regular requests from adviser firms across the industry to add income protection to our services.
“Recently, following the success of the Insight Zone, we have also seen increased demand from insurers to illustrate the merits of their income protection policies and so when Guardian approached us as part of their product launch we decided to bring forward our plans,” Lakey explained.
The Insight Zone’s digital dashboard will provide a ‘birds-eye’ view of all aspects of an income protection proposition in a user-friendly format.
CIExpert has also launched a ‘maximum benefit tool’ to enable advisers to visually compare the levels of coverage available between plans and more easily illustrate the options for clients.
“Income protection products have their own set of challenges and complexities and face a different set of barriers for adviser and client adoption,” Lakey said.
“We have taken this first step to aid advisers in this area by creating a new set of interactive tools and the insights available will serve those advisers already engaged with IP.”
He added that the firm also plans to invest more in the development of the area to simplify the adviser journey.
Commenting on the announcement from CIExpert, the Income Protection Taskforce’s co-chair Andrew Wibberley said the organisation was delighted.
“CIExpert has built a reputation over the last 10 years from making the process of assessing quality and reviewing critical illness policies a simpler one by cutting through the complexity and enabling advisers to clearly articulate the differences between policies,” Wibberley said.
He added: “Applying this same focus to income protection should give advisers more confidence to understand and explain differences, further accelerating growth in the market and resulting in more people protecting their incomes.”
jane.matthews@ft.com
