Advisers want more protection products for renters

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Advisers want more protection products for renters
Credit: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Advisers would like to see a broader range of protection products for renters, according to research for HSBC.

A survey of 100 independent financial advisers who focus on protection sales, carried out in March, found 42 per cent wanted to see a greater range of products in the protection market for people who rent homes.

According to HSBC, advisers have traditionally approached homeowners when taking out a mortgage, while engagement has not been the same with renters.

It added that there was an opportunity for new solutions to be designed specifically for renters, with the value of many protection products based on an outstanding mortgage value.

Separate research from the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) published last week found that 55 per cent of advisers would be interested in writing income protection for renters via an estate agent, while 40 per cent of tenants would appreciate a policy designed to cover rent payments.

The survey for HSBC also found some advisers believed there was a need for products offering enhanced mental health coverage (32 per cent) and short-term cover (30 per cent).

It comes as the Association of British Insurers (ABI) launched mental health standards in September to provide better support for customers with mental health conditions when applying for health, travel or protection insurance.

Faster underwriting ‘key’ to growth

The research for HSBC also found that financial advisers thought innovation leading to faster underwriting was the most important requirement in the individual protection market to help drive growth, with half of advisers calling for the process to be accelerated.

A quarter (24 per cent) said the time it takes to secure a policy was too long and could discourage applicants.

Mark Hussein, chief executive officer of HSBC Life (UK) and head of insurance UK at HSBC, said: “Recent events are driving a rapid evolution in sales and customer engagement and we will increasingly see how the innovative application of new technologies can break down many of the current barriers to market growth.”

Mr Hussein added: “HSBC Life UK continues to develop and embed new platforms and technologies to deliver even greater efficiencies in the underwriting process. These will speed-up our customer journey and the acceptance process, whilst maintaining market leading rigour in application evaluation.”

chloe.cheung@ft.com

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