Trust is key to raising industry awareness

Think Tank: Key industry figures discussed best ways to help COVER's campaign

By Johanna Gornitzki

Lack of trust is currently the biggest contributor to the poor uptake of protection sales, it was argued at COVER's latest Think Tank.

According to delegates at the roundtable, which debated how the industry could promote protection, both the Government and consumers have a deep-seated distrust for the industry. This, the participants agreed, has made trust the single most important issue to deal with when trying to raise awareness about the insurance sector.

Worryingly, Peter Le Beau, managing director at Le Beau Visage, admitted: "People would probably buy more protection if it wasn't sold by insurance companies. I don't mean that totally flippantly, it is just that the underlying image of the industry is so poor among some people that they are unwilling to do business with it."

Agreeing with Le Beau, Steve Payne, director at Bupa Individual Protection, said insurers are probably "least well placed" to promote protection products. "They are not necessarily those organisations that would succeed in expanding the market," he argued.

Payne thinks the Government, in general, has a relatively low opinion of the industry, saying this is where the industry has to start if it wants to promote protection.

"We need to help politicians work out what's in it for the Government. If we can show the Government how we can help reduce benefit spend, and how we can help increase tax revenues through insurance then we are starting to talk to the Government in terms that may garner co-operation rather than resistance. And that could rebuild the trust that does not exist between us," he added.

In addition to building a relationship with the Government, Roger Edwards, products director at Bright Grey, said the industry must also engage with the media. "Unfortunately, media, just like the Government and a lot of people, still view our industry as really poor. Therefore, if there is a bad story about someone who has been let down by an insurance company, straight away it will be picked up by the media. Publications like the Daily Mail, for example, will always run with articles about how bad critical illness cover is and how people should not go near it with a barge pole," he said.

The majority of the industry experts taking part in the debate agreed that the Financial Services Authority, providers, advisers and other industry bodies all have a collective responsibility to make sure consumers understand the importance of protection.