Hi, everyone! I have ended up out of sequence! Last time I said we would be back with an episode on fatty liver disease, but the FCA has published its Protection Market Interim Report, and I absolutely had to cover this.

The good news is that the FCA thinks that the protection industry is working really well, it just needs a couple of tweaks. Overall, I am really happy with what the report says, but there are some areas I don’t agree with and you can hear my views in this episode. I am going through their review of insurance costs, claims, complaints, the role of commissions, restricted panels, loaded premiums and more.

The key takeaways:

1. Within pure protection products, income protection has the lowest value in terms of cost compared to claims success, but is still much higher than other insurances
2. Loaded premiums, commission and restricted panels have been analysed and shown to not show significant detriment to consumers
3. Closing the Protection Gap remains one of the key challenges for the protection insurance industry

There are a lot of insights in the report and it is well worth a read. I’ve tried to pick out certain pages to direct you to, in case you don’t fancy the full thing, it is 47 pages.

Next time Alan will be back with me and we will be covering how fatty liver disease and protection insurance work.

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors PlannerX.

Hi, everyone! As I am sure you can imagine I am always looking for ideas about what to cover in the podcast. We’ve done lots on health conditions, I’ve done deep dives into insurance products, commented on market developments, but I was absolutely shocked to realise I have not done a specific episode of vulnerable clients.

Most of you probably recognise my name as a specialist protection insurance adviser and really specifically someone that helps people with higher health risks. I’ve often spoken about the needs of vulnerable clients and been involved in multiple industry events for this topic. I’ve even won an award or two.

So it seems silly that I have not covered this before and I am going to make sure that I give you as many tips as I can during the episode.

The key takeaways:

1. Examples of common vulnerabilities
2. Guidance on how to build a vulnerable client register
3. Ways to support your clients and your employees/colleagues when discussing vulnerable situations

Vulnerability is very subjective and it can also change over time. Sometimes people can think, well we’ve never come across this before and we will just handle it if it happens. Which you can do, but it is much easier if you have a clear structured process in place. Your clients and your colleagues will thank you for it.

Next time Alan Knowles will be back with me and we will be deep diving into fatty liver disease.

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors PlannerX.

Hi everyone, I have Kate Baldry joining me today to share her insights into early onset colo-rectal cancer, a diagnosis that is happening more and more. As a Research and Development Underwriter at Hannover Re, Kate has incredible access and insight to claims and health data. Kate has been spending time analysing the increasing rate of bowel cancer diagnoses and any trends that could be causing this.

It was particularly interesting for me as Kate shares that some of the patterns that they have seen are due to people being tall, healthy BMI and having their gallbladder removed - I hit all three of these! The main takeaway that I have from our chat is that whilst these factors might contribute to bowel cancer diagnosis, at the moment it is still very much an unknown. There are a lot of theories but no definitive reason as to why bowel cancer diagnoses are increasing.

The key takeaways:

• Early onset bowel cancer is when there is a diagnosis before the age of 50
• Deep dives into claims have shown that many claimants had no family history of bowel cancer or other disclosures related to digestive health 
• The TNM score of the bowel cancer diagnosis is essential in determining what the options for protection insurance will be

Next time I will be joined by Phil Jeynes, who will be sharing with us his story of a bowel cancer diagnosis and what life has been like for him since.  

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, this week we have Andy Woollon from Zurich joining us to talk about intergenerational wealth planning, and how protection insurance is a fundamental part of someone’s financial plan.

Following on from the recent Income Protection Task Force week, protection insurance and wealth planning feels like a natural mix. If you haven’t seen the sessions yet, check out Wealth Wednesday on YouTube, with Setul Mehta, Gemma Darcy, Victor Sacks, Mike Allison and Daniel Weaver.

The key takeaways:

• The concept of using income protection to protect the bank of mum and dad.
• The use of protection insurance when taking early pension drawdowns.
• Using a cashflow model to show a client and yourself what can happen to the financial plan if income protection isn’t in place.

Next time Matt Rann will be joining me again and we will be focusing upon arranging insurance when you are living with lupus. There’s also a real need to make sure that you are very clear about whether the person you are speaking to has lupus or if they are a carrier of the gene, as it can really alter the insurances that will be available.

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors Octo Members.

If you want to know more about how to arrange protection insurance, take a look at my Protection Insurance in Practice course here.

Hi everyone, I am back a little earlier than usual with an Inbetweenysode. I think most people reading this will be aware that there has been a bit of a social media kerfuffle recently. There has been a lot of debate about whether or not advisers should charge fees to their clients and if commission-based firms are transparent to clients.

This episode is providing a background to these different approaches to adviser remuneration, there’s pros and cons to each, and I hope that you think it is a balanced account of what they are.

The key takeaways:

• Why some firms offer fee-based advice and others work on a commission-based model.
• The difference between indemnity and non-indemnity insurance.
• The importance of transparency and client choice.

Next time Roy McLoughlin is back and we have Andy Woollon from Zurich, chatting to us about the role of protection insurance in intergenerational wealth planning. I find this side of advice fascinating and I hope that it gives you some more ideas too.

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors Octo Members.

If you want to know more about how to arrange protection insurance, take a look at my Protection Insurance in Practice course here.

Hi everyone, we are back and talking about blood cancer. In this episode Matt explains how the different blood cancers affect the body, which has really helped me to visualise what happens when they develop.

The key takeaways:

• There are 250,000 living with blood cancer in the UK.
• There are different types of blood cancer: leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN).
• A case study of life insurance for someone living with CLL phenotypes.

We also have a  brief discussion of someone’s right to forget that they have had cancer, in France and Belgium. This is something that is not yet done in the UK, it is an interesting concept, it would open up the options to a lot of people to get insurance and we discuss why that would be a good thing, and also the knock-on effects it would have across the market.

Next time I am going to be doing an Inbetweenysode. There has been a lot of chatter recently about advisers taking fees or a commission for their work. I am going to do a shortish episode about this, focusing upon explaining both routes.

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors Octo Members.

If you want to know more about how to arrange protection insurance, take a look at my Protection Insurance in Practice course here.

Hi everyone, we are back with an episode on skin cancer, something that we think is incredibly important to think about during these summer months. I’m sorry that the podcast is out a week later than usual, but with all of the mummy vs work juggling of the summer holidays, I needed to take a little extra time so I don’t burnout.

This episode is so important and came with quite a shock to me. Matt Rann had told me that he would like to do an episode on skin cancer and I agreed that it would be a good area to cover. For me, I think there is sometimes a misconception that skin cancer is a ‘lesser’ cancer and will not affect insurance applications as much as something like breast cancer. The shock came from Matt, when he started explaining to me that his brother had died from skin cancer. 

This is not an episode to be missed. We talk about making sure that you wear suntan lotion, even in the UK when it is cloudy, as skin cancer can do significant harm to the body even if it just looks like a small lump or blemish on the outside.

The key takeaways:

• Skin cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the UK.
• The amount of people diagnosed with skin cancer has increased, more than any other cancer, in the last decade.
• A case study client with atypical mole syndrome that needed life insurance to cover his mortgage.

Roy McLoughlin is back with me next time and I am quite excited as we should be having a face to face meet up beforehand. If the weather behaves, it might be a barbecue at the Knowles house later this week (with suntan lotion to hand!).

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors Octo Members.

If you want to know more about how to arrange protection insurance, take a look at my Protection Insurance in Practice course here.

Hi everyone, we have Jo Elphick from Legal & General joining me and Roy McLoughlin in this episode. Legal & General have been looking at how gender influences the way that people engage with group income protection insurance. The statistics are quite interesting!

65% of women surveyed believe that income protection is relevant to them, versus only 35% of men that felt it is worthwhile

As we talk through the findings, Jo helps us to understand the way that women tend to see the value of income protection more than men, yet less women than men take up and engage with this policy type. We talk about how women traditionally tend to address health concerns early on, in contrast to their ‘invincible’ male counterparts, which means we really should be shouting from the rooftops about how group support services can help them and their immediate family.

The key takeaways:

• Some reasons for people not engaging with group income protection include not understanding what the policy is, their partner’s sorting out all the finance stuff, and fear that employers might learn too much about their health.
• Messages about group insurance support services are not often filtered to employees well, being lost amongst all the noise of employment contracts and onboarding procedures.
• Storytelling that demonstrates the benefits of engaging with group support services, is where we can show how income protection isn't’ just about money, it’s about wellbeing too.

Next time, Matt Rann is back with me and we are chatting about skin cancer and how it can affect your insurance options. I think people are often surprised at how much someone having had skin cancer can alter the terms on offer. I also think a lot of people are shocked when they hear that you should wear suncream everyday in the UK. Yes, even though we only get 5 days of sunshine a year, you should always have suncream on.

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors Octo Members.

If you want to know more about how to arrange protection insurance, take a look at my Protection Insurance in Practice course here.

Hi everyone, I have Matt Rann back with me, fresh from his holiday in Madeira. I am a tad jealous, but I imagine many of you like me have had absolutely glorious weather this weekend, so I’m not feeling too bitter.

Matt is joining me to chat about accessing insurance when someone is transgender. As with many things the insurance world has made clear growth in how it underwrites insurance applications for people that are transgender. It’s not yet perfect, but it’s much better than it was and we talk through how things have changed over the years.

The key takeaways:

• There are approximately 600,000 people that are transgender or non-binary within the UK.
• Transgender is not a mental health condition, but you might end up having to answer questions as if it is, in an insurance application form.
• A case study detailing life insurance and income protection for a transgender man.

Next time, I have Roy McLoughlin and Jo Elphick from Legal & General joining me. We are going to be chatting about group insurance, income protection and some research that shows the differences in how men and women approach these areas. 

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors Octo Members.

If you want to know more about how to arrange protection insurance, take a look at my Protection Insurance in Practice course here.

Hi everyone, we are talking about something that strikes dread within advisers... objection handling. Ok maybe not dread for an experienced adviser who has pretty much heard it all, but for people stepping into the protection space this can be quite nerve wracking.

Roy McLoughlin is back with me and we are discussing the common objections that he hears within the pensions space, and how these seem to mirror objections to protection insurance too.

The key takeaways:

• Common objections are, “I’m too young”, “It’s too expensive”, “It won’t happen to me”.
• The average cost of an income protection policy is £1 a day.
• You need to tailor your advice recommendation to match what the client cares about and there is a fine balance between disturbance and scaremongering.

Next time, I am speaking with Matt Rann for his first outing of Season 4. We are going to be chatting about accessing insurance when you are transgender. With us just having had PRIDE month, it feels like now is a good time to dispel some myths around service and potential terms of insurance. 

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors Octo Members.

If you want to know more about how to arrange protection insurance, take a look at my Protection Insurance in Practice course here.

Hi everyone, we are at the start of season 4 of the podcast and we are taking a deep dive into underwriting manuals.

In the first episode I have Peter Maynard with me from Select X, talking about his career in underwriting. We chat about what an underwriting manual looks like, the types of risk that they include, how underwriters use them and the role of automated underwriting.

The key takeaways:

• Automated systems are good, but you can’t beat a human underwriter!
• Underwriting manuals are technical guides of how to assess risk, but there should be some wiggle room in decisions.
• The more you know about a person’s ‘risk’, the more likely you are to get a realistic indication of insurance terms.

Next time, Roy McLoughlin is back with me for his first outing of season 4. 

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors Octo Members.

If you want to know more about how to arrange protection insurance, take a look at my Protection Insurance in Practice course here.

Hi everyone, this week I have Chrissy Clark from Health Claims Bureau with me, talking about rehabilitation services in practice.

As an adviser, I know about the rehabilitation support that is on offer with group income protection, but do I really know what it is? When does it kick in? Who is actually stepping in and giving the support? What does the support look like?

The key takeaways:

• 90% of people that get support within 4 weeks of ill health, are able to return to work.
• People that do not get rehabilitation support within 26 weeks of becoming ill, are shown to have only a 5% chance of returning to work.
• Two case studies of people that received rehabilitation support. 

I will be back soon, speaking with Peter Maynard from Select X. Our focus will be on how underwriting manuals are developed, how they work with underwriting philosophies and their role in access to insurance.

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors Octo Members.

If you want to know more about how to arrange protection insurance, take a look at my Protection Insurance in Practice course here.

Hi everyone, this week Matt Rann is back with me and we are talking about type 1 diabetes.

We are chatting about what diabetes is and how it affects the body, the potential complications that someone can experience and the insurance underwriting terms. 

The key takeaways:

• Type 1 diabetes can affect all areas of the body and there are specific complications that can occur in the heart, eyes, feet and kidneys.
• The key things that underwriters need to know, to give you a potential indication of terms.
• A case study of arranging life insurance and income protection, for someone living with type 1 diabetes.

I will be back in a couple of weeks with Alan Knowles. He is back with one of his masterclasses and this time the focus is going to be on critical illness cover.

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website.

If you want to know more about how to arrange protection insurance, take a look at my new Protection Insurance in Practice course here.

Hi everyone, Lisa Balboa is back and she is sharing her insights into how AI is helping insurance across the world. I am quite a reluctant AI enthusiast as I’m always nervous it means less people involved in decisions, but Lisa brilliantly explains how AI is working alongside people to improve access to insurance and better claims experiences. 

With insights from Australia, China, South Africa and America, Lisa shares different approaches to insurance outside of the UK market. 

The key takeaways:

• AI can be used to proactively look through medical records of declined applications, to see if the ‘computer says no’ has been too harsh
• AI can be develop and grow over time, so that it can make more automated decisions, freeing up underwriters to focus on the more complex cases 
• AI can play a fundamental role in preventative healthcare by spotting early changes in health 

Next time I will be joined by Kate Baldry, Research and development underwriter at Hannover Re, talking about her insights into colo-rectal cancer.  

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, this week we are focusing on group insurance and we have Katharine Moxham from GRiD (Group Risk Development) with us.

Katharine takes us through claims statistics, how free medical underwriting works, the benefits that an employer can access through these insurances and much more. 

The key takeaways:

• Group insurers paid £100 million in claims relating to covid in 2020.
• How group insurance can increase access to insurance, for people living with health conditions.
• The benefits to both employers and employees from arranging group cover.

I will be back in a couple of weeks with Matt Rann, and we will be chatting about diabetes.

Hi everyone, I have Matt Rann back with me and we are focusing upon neurodiversity. We are taking a look at accessing insurance when someone has ADHD, autism, dyspraxia and/or dyslexia.

A big part of this session is focused upon adviser skills and responsibilities, to ensure that clients are supported. We also talk about potential underwriting questions and how insurers can take steps to improve their communications. 

The key takeaways:

• Statistics over how many neurodiverse people are living within the UK, it’s millions!
• To never make assumptions about your client based upon their health.
• Ways to adapt your sales approach to support people that require different communication routes.

I will be back in a couple of weeks with Katharine Moxham and Roy McLoughlin to chat about group insurance.

Hi everyone, a slight change of schedule this week as we bring to you something a little different to our usual format. Last week I chaired a panel discussion with the ISC Group, focused upon 'Understanding the Menopause' along with Sian Fisher, CEO at the Chartered Institute of Insurance, Helen Dick, Senior Manager Underwriting & Claims Strategy at Scottish Widows and Christine Husbands, Managing Director at Red Arc.

This podcast, recorded from the live panel discussion which was broadcast Thursday 15th April, explores how the menopause impacts a woman's work life, and how employers can ensure they are providing the necessary support. The panel also touched on how we can work to break the taboos surrounding menopause, and in doing so, support colleagues and clients better.

The ISC Group is a business community that provides personal, professional and business development for women in insurance. Initially launched as a network for senior women in the UK, it's quickly developed into a global business community uniting women across the world.

Below are links to resources you may find useful, that were mentioned in the podcast:

• British Menopause Society - www.thebms.org.uk

• Daisy Network - www.daisynetwork.org.uk

• Manage My Menopause - www.managemymenopause.co.uk

• Women’s Health Concern - www.womens-health-concern.org

• Menopause Matters - www.menopausematters.co.uk/forum

Hi everyone, this week we are focusing on bowel cancer. This is a topic that is very close to Matt’s heart as he was diagnosed with Stage 3 bowel cancer some years ago. 

Matt is sharing his experience of spotting the signs of bowel cancer, pushing for extra medical checks and the time that he learned of his diagnosis. We then talk through the treatments that he underwent and go through some medical terms, to break down some of the most common classifications for assessing cancer.

The key takeaways:

• Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, and the second biggest killer.
• The main symptoms of bowel cancer.
• How staging and grading of cancer works and the TNM system.

I will be back in a couple of weeks with Roy McLoughlin and we will be chatting about group insurance. There is so much potential for introducing group cover to your clients, especially small-to-medium businesses.

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website.

Hi everyone, this week Roy is having his first solo hosting on this podcast, interviewing Lee Robertson from Octo Members. Lee and Roy have an extensive chat about wealth management, protection insurance, signposting and more.

Lee has built a platform that allows advisers, from many areas within financial services, to join together to share their knowledge. This private community is focused upon bringing together experts who can discuss best practices, that can generate respectful debate and practical tips for action.

The key takeaways:

• Gift inter vivos and joint life second death policies can be an integral part of effective planning for inheritance tax
• Protection used to be the first building blocks of a financial plan, but it’s not seen to be as interesting as other parts of wealth management
• The need to challenge client’s mindsets of the financial needs for the whole household

On the next podcast I will be back with Matt Rann and we will be chatting about cancer, especially bowel cancer. We will be chatting about early warning signs, potential treatments and what this can mean if you are trying to support someone to get protection insurance.

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website.

Hi everyone, this week we are back to protection insurance underwriting and the focus is upon endometriosis. This is a condition that is far more common than you think and with half of an adviser’s clients being female, one that we feel is good to know about.

In most cases endometriosis will have little impact upon the options available for protection insurance, but there are key questions that you need to ask your clients, to make sure that your research covers everything. It’s also essential to make sure that you approach specific parts of your factfind in a sensitive manner, due to some of the long-term health implications that can be caused by this condition.

The key takeaways:

• 1 in 10 women in the UK have endometriosis.
• Symptoms and potential treatments for endometriosis.
• A case study of arranging life insurance to protect a mortgage, for someone living with endometriosis.

At the end of this episode I also give a few pointers on what to do if you are an employer, so that you can support colleagues that have endometriosis.

On the next podcast Roy McLoughlin is doing his first solo outing as host for the Practical Protection Podcast. Roy will be chatting with Lee Robertson, from Octo Members, about how protection insurance is an essential part of planning a client’s financial future.

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website.

Hi everyone, on this episode Andrew Montlake of Coreco, is joining us to chat about mortgages. We are talking about the need to discuss protection insurance, when a mortgage is being arranged.

Andrew is the Chairman of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) and brings a very open mind over how mortgages and protection should mix. Amongst other things, we are discussing how the current explanation and marketing of protection products isn’t always the easiest for people to understand outside of this area, and how Rishi Sunak’s furlough scheme is akin to income protection and how we can use this as a positive example to explain the product.

The key takeaways:

• Statistics over how many clients believe that their mortgage broker has mentioned protection insurance.
• Some tips on when to bring the protection discussion into your advice process.
• The importance of signposting clients to protection advisers, if you are unable to spare time to do it yourself.

Next time, Matt Rann will be back hosting with me and we will be chatting about the latest underwriting risk, and what you can do to understand it and help your clients more.

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website.

*** Disclaimer: In this episode we are going to be talking about mental health conditions and in particular suicidal thoughts and attempts. Please be aware that some people may find some of the content upsetting.***

Hi everyone, today Matt Rann is joining the episode and we are talking about mental health. With everything that is going on in the world with the coronavirus pandemic, mental health is something that is affecting many people, including both children and adults. 

We are chatting about how mental health is underwritten for things like life insurance, how the insurance sector is currently responding to mental health and our thoughts on how insurance offerings could be improved.

The key takeaways:

• Statistics regarding mental health during the coronavirus lockdown.
• Debate over the classification of mental health symptoms.
• A case study of arranging life insurance and income protection for someone living with Bipolar.

Next time, Roy McLoughlin will be back hosting with me and we will be chatting to Andrew Montlake.

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website.

Hi everyone, today I have with me Helen Croft. She is the Head of Underwriting Strategy at AIG and is talking all about covid. 

We are chatting about why covid has meant that underwriting of insurance has had to change this past year, why covid is such a serious risk and hopes that we may start getting back to normal around Easter time.

The key takeaways:

• Why covid is presenting as such a big risk
• What the covid mutations could mean
• Some potential side effects of long covid

Next time, Matt Rann will be doing his first co-host with me, and we will be talking about mental health and underwriting.

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website.

Hi everyone, we are the start of Season 3 and there is a bit of a change happening. I have a new co-host, with Roy McLoughlin joining me regularly on the podcast so we can talk about the latest developments in protection insurance and more. Roy is bringing his knowledge of investments, pensions, protection and many other areas to the show.

Matt Rann will also be a regular co-host and we will be talking about underwriting in the protection space. We will be taking different risk scenarios and chatting about potential underwriting outcomes for protection insurance, and why these decisions are made.

The key takeaways:

• How we are in the perfect time to really drive home the importance of income protection to our clients.
• The need for us to try and get positive stories out into the public domain, and the potential of engaging journalists.
• The value of signposting clients to specialists if you are unable to meet your clients needs, not only for the benefit of your client, but also to make sure that you are truly treating customers fairly and meeting compliance and regulatory requirements.

Next week, I will be speaking with Helen Croft from AIG about coronavirus and the year ahead.

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website.

Hi everyone, I have five case studies for you this time. I’m going through life insurance options for gift planning and IHT planning. Arranging life insurance to protect against these taxes is often quite straightforward, but there are a number of technicalities that can mean that the ‘normal’ approach to life insurance doesn’t give your client the best outcome.

Things like your client’s residency, their health and other factors, can play a big part on how your approach choosing the right insurer and life insurance product for them.

The key takeaways:

• Three case studies of arranging life insurance in different ways for gift protection 
• Two case studies of arrange life insurance for IHT protection 
• Insights into how reviewable and guaranteed premiums can each work positively for your clients, depending upon their circumstances 

Next time I will be joined once again by Lisa Balboa, Head of Life & Health Digital Business Accelerator at Hannover Re, to talk about the latest insights into AI and insurance.  

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, this week I am speaking with Matt Rann, who has worked within the insurer, reinsurer and IFA community for the last 42 years. Matt is an underwriter who has seen many changes to the insurance sector, over his career.

Matt is chatting about how he became an underwriter, and the rewards he has seen by using his knowledge to be an expert witness, when claims have gone wrong.  

The key takeaways:

• Matt's career in underwriting and how things have changed in the last 20 years.
• A summary of the roles of underwriters and actuaries, and how they compliment each other in establishing a client's risk.
• The importance of having support systems in place for claims handlers.

I'm now taking a break until 2021, when I will be back with a slightly different structure. I hope you like it!

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website.

I hope that you all have a fantastic Christmas and New Year, see you soon!

Hi everyone, this week I am speaking with Alan Knowles, husband, co director, Chair of the PDG and the 2020 winner of the Protection Review’s Protection Adviser of the Year.

Alan is doing an income protection masterclass, talking about how versatile these policies are and how they can sometimes have a bad rep, for not being particularly accessible. But, Alan goes through 4 case studies that show how speaking with an adviser, can truly help people with higher risks to get income protection.  

The key takeaways:

• A case study of income protection for someone with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and type 1 diabetes.
• A case study of income protection for a person living with bipolar disorder.
• A case study of income protection for a rock climber.
• A case study of income protection for someone living with Antiphospholipid Syndrome.

Next week, will be the last episode of series 2 and we have some exciting changes coming up for season 3 in 2021. I’m going to be chatting with Matt Rann about his career in underwriting, discussing how underwriting has changed over the last 40 years.

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website.

Hi everyone, this week I am chatting to Paul Moore and Di Stubbs, from Winston’s Wish. Winston’s Wish is a childhood bereavement charity and speaking with them has really opened my eyes to the amount of kids that are facing these situations every day. I needed a hug after recording this.

Paul and Di talk about how Winston’s Wish was setup, the way that the charity has adapted over the years and the ways that they are able to support children in the present day. 

The 3 key takeaways:

• 111 children are bereaved of a loved one, everyday in the UK.
• The importance of helping children to process their emotions and reacting to their specific needs, which can be greatly affected by their age.
• A case study of the impact that a parent’s terminal illness, can have on a child.

Next week I will be chatting with Alan Knowles, from Cura Financial Services and Chair of the PDG, about an income protection masterclass.

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website.

Hi everyone, this week I am chatting to Alison Esson, Propositions Manager from AIG.

Alison is the added value services guru within the protection industry, leading much of the developments that have happened in this area. Added value services are the extras that help policyholders and their immediate family, throughout their policy. It's not just about the claim anymore!

Alison is talking about her journey working at Bright Grey and now being a part of AIG, shouting the benefits of these long-term support services.

The 3 key takeaways:

1. The reasons why insurers offer support services to clients.
2. How things like remote 24/7 GP appointments, second medical opinions services, nutrition and fitness advice, have been so essential during the coronavirus pandemic.
3. Stats and clear examples of how these value added services can be life changing for policyholders and their children.

Next week I will be chatting with Paul Moore from Winstons Wish, a childhood bereavement charity. We are going to be talking about their services and how it's so important to make sure that children are properly supported, when they experience a significant loss.

Hi everyone, this week I am chatting to Ross Linnett from Recite Me.

Ross has dyslexia and has developed an accessibility and language toolbar, that helps people to adapt websites to their needs. We have it integrated into our website, the Special Risks Bureau, and it is incredible.

I'm chatting to Ross about why he decided to develop this software and how important it is for businesses to think about these things. We talk about what it is like when you are dyslexic and how when you are faced with insurance documentation, you sometimes avoid getting the insurances so that you don't have to deal with the paperwork.

The 3 key takeaways:

1. How providing accessible websites and services, is a legal requirement for UK businesses.
2. Statistics show that businesses are losing out on 25% of their customers, through a lack of accessibility, estimated to be worth £7billion.
3. ReciteMe only requires a couple of lines of coding, to be integrated into your website, to improve your customer outreach.

Next week I will be chatting with Alison Esson from AIG. We are going to be talking about the different services that are available with the Smart Health support that they offer and their new critical illness offering.

Hi everyone, this week I am chatting to Simoney Kyriakou from Financial Adviser.

Simoney is on a mission to clear up rogue lead generation firms. From the start we are clear on this, not all lead generation firms are iffy, there are many out there that are completely reputable. As with anything in life you get some good and you get some bad.

I'm chatting to Simoney about the ways that some lead generation firms are behaving, that isn't seen to be the best when it comes to client services. We are talking about ways that client's data is sometimes shared, the way that advertising is being used to confuse customers and how this is affecting the insurance industry as a whole.

The 3 key takeaways:

1. Some of the key tactics that are used by lead generation firms, to target their audience.
2. How client's data can be used and sold once it is with a lead generation firm.
3. The responsibility of adviser firms to know the methods that are being used by lead generation firms, especially if they are unregulated.

Next week I will be chatting with Ross Linnett from Recite Me, a communications software that is helping to improve customer's experiences across the internet, with their cloud based accessibility tool.

Hi everyone, this week I am chatting to my Dad!

My Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in his early 50s and he is now 66. He is going to be chatting about how his condition started to affect his ability to work in the police force and what having his symptoms feels like.

He is speaking frankly about how Parkinson's disease has at times changed his behaviour and personality, the symptoms you can have that many people don't think of and how he feels about his upcoming deep brain stimulation surgery.

The 3 key takeaways:

1. Some of the symptoms that a person with Parkinson's disease can experience.
2. The affect that Parkinson's disease can have on changing a person's behaviour.
3. A quick overview of how deep brain surgery is sometimes used to treat Parkinson's disease.

Next week I will be chatting with Simoney Kyriakou about rogue lead distribution firms, what the industry is doing to tackle them and her experiences with private medical insurance.

Hi everyone, this week I am chatting to Hannah Godfrey, the News Editor at Professional Adviser and Deputy Editor at Retirement Planner.

Hannah is joining me today to chat about pensions, her career and the Women In Financial Advice Awards that is being held today. This is a really interesting one for me as I don't 'do' pensions.

The 3 key takeaways:

1. Pay into your pension, it's the best investment for the future.
2. Pay as much as you can into your pension. Don't opt out and if you can, pay more.
3. Watch out for scammers, they are very very good! Hannah gives tips on how to spot these.

It's a family affair next week, as I'll be chatting with my Dad, Richard Lemmon, about his life and how he is living with Parkinson's Disease. It's an emotional episode for me, as my Dad is due to undergo deep brain surgery very soon and I am of course, a tad nervous about how he is going to be.

Hi everyone, this week I am chatting to Emma Thomson, Product Strategist at British Friendly.

Last year Emma was diagnosed with breast cancer and she is joining me on the podcast to talk about her experience of having cancer, her treatment and her tips on reviewing your protection insurances.

Emma is chatting about the extra costs of cancer too, the things that people often don't talk about e.g. post-surgery bras. She also tells us how she now has 3 tattoos thanks to her treatment, something that she never expected and I think that she sounds quite relieved that they are only tiny dots.

With no family history of cancer and a negative result on the BRCA gene, Emma is an example of how cancer can happen to anybody. Working in protection insurance all of her life, she had the foresight to get private medical insurance, critical illness cover and income protection in place, all of which were able to support her during her diagnosis and recovery.

The 3 key takeaways:

1. How you can use lemons to help spot the symptoms of cancer.
2. The importance of reviewing your protection insurance, especially if you are changing jobs and your employee benefits change.
3. A case study about getting life insurance for a client that had breast cancer, whilst stricter underwriting decisions have been in place due to coronavirus.

I might be back sooner than usual with another Inbetweenysode. Watch this space!!

In two weeks I will be chatting with Richard Lemmon, my Dad, about his experiences living with Parkinson's disease.

Hi everyone, this week I am chatting to Vicky Churcher, Intermediary Director of AIG.

Vicky is joining me to chat about her health, claiming on her insurance and how the additional services offered by Best Doctors have been phenomenal for both her and her family.

In 2018 Vicky had a major heart attack, which was a huge shock given her being a regular runner, a vegetarian for most of her life and generally someone that didn't have any of the usual risks that lead to a heart attack.

In this episode we focus upon Vicky's experiences of what having a heart attack felt like and how it can change your life. Vicky is now a counsellor to support people that are due to undergo major heart surgery, which I think we can all agree is an incredibly positive way to focus her energy.

The 3 key takeaways:

1. The types of symptoms that someone can experience when having a heart attack.
2. The importance of using value added services, like Best Doctors, to double check that every part of your medical condition has been thoroughly investigated.
3. A case study arranging life insurance for a client with atrial fibrillation, a history of pulmonary embolisms and mental health.

Next time I will be chatting with Emma Thomson from British Friendly. We will be chatting about Emma's experience being diagnosed with breast cancer and what it was like for her to claim on her insurance policies.

Hi everyone, we have Alan Knowles back with us and we are taking a look at how living with chronic fatigue syndrome can influence your options for life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection. 

Chronic fatigue syndrome or ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis) is a long term condition that can cause significant tiredness, pain, brain fog, sensitivity to light and many other things. Approximately 1.3m people are living with the condition in the UK and it can alter your options for insurance, especially critical illness cover and income protection.

The key takeaways:

• Most critical illness policies will exclude any claims for Total Permanent Disability
• It is likely that most options for personal income protection will not be available, but there are alternatives
• Two case studies of arranging life insurance for people who are living with chronic fatigue syndrome

Next time it will just be me doing the podcast and I will be focusing upon protection and IHT case studies.  

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, this week I am chatting to Alan Knowles, Managing Director of Cura, known for his work as a speciality insurance adviser. Alan is also the Chair of the PDG, founding member of the Access to Insurance working group and recently appointed as an executive for the Income Protection Task Force. As a side note he is also my husband and I promise that we kept our banter to a minimum!

In this episode we focus upon providing case studies where Alan has arranged life insurance for people that are considered to be a higher risk.

The 3 key takeaways:

1. Case studies of protection insurance for people that have had leukaemia, prostate cancer, organ transplants, that regularly skydive, and someone travelling and working in Libya.
2. A breakdown of what percentage ratings vs per mile ratings are.
3. The PDG Funeral Pledge and Claims Charter, and what it means for your clients if this insurer has signed up to these.

Alan will be back on in the future with an income protection masterclass and if there’s any specific risks you’d like him to chat about, drop me a message.

Hi everyone, it's episode 5 of season 2, and this week I am speaking with Lindsay Mason, my colleague at Cura, who has been through some significant events this year.

Please note that this episode could be quite emotional for some people to hear. We are talking about deaths caused by cancer, heart attack and coronavirus, and the feelings and difficulties that a family member can face when these things happen.

Lindsay will talk through how this year has been and how it can feel when you are faced with so many significant events in such a short period of time. She is talking about how it felt for her mum to place a terminal illness claim, to have that declined and then how it felt when she helped her dad to put forward a death claim this year. Lindsay also discusses how she was able to access Red Arc Nurses through her insurances and what that meant for her and her family.

My 3 key takeaways:

1. The complex emotions that come with making a terminal illness claim.
2. The financial difficulties that a family member can face until a life insurance claim is paid.
3. The practical and emotional support that organisations like Red Arc can offer at the time of a claim and beyond.

Please let me know what you think of the podcast and if there is anything that you would like me to feature in the future.

Next time I will be chatting with Alan Knowles from Cura. We will be talking through a mix of case studies where he has arranged protection insurance for people that are considered a high insurance risk. We will also be discussing his role as the Chair of the PDG and his membership of the Access to Insurance working group.

Hi Everyone,

It's episode 4 of season 2 and today is all about RedArc Nurses. I have Sue Kinsella with me, who is talking about her experiences working at RedArc and what it is that these nurses do.

My 3 key takeaways,

1. Things to do and things not to do when someone talks to you about their health.

2. What to do if you are speaking with someone and you become concerned about the safety of their mental health.

3. The different services that RedArc can offer include second medical opinion services, explanations of medical diagnosis and treatments, materials to support children to understand what is happening, a regular supportive catch-up chat and much more.

Please let me know what you think of the podcast and if there is anything that you would like me to feature in the future.

Next time I have Lindsay Mason from Cura joining me. Lindsay has had a significantly difficult year, losing her mum to cancer, supporting her father whilst making a claim on her life insurance and having the support of a RedArc Nurse. She has an incredible story to share and I think you will find it very powerful to listen to.

Hi Everyone,

We are onto episode 3 of season 2 and this time I have Leo Miles with me.

Leo works for Macmillan Cancer Support and spends her time fighting for equality for people that have had or are living with cancer. Leo has been a mortgage adviser, has worked within the Financial Services Authority and is now a charity advocate.

My 3 key takeaways,

1. Access to insurance for people with a history of cancer has changed due to coronavirus.

2. It is essential that everyone within the insurance sector adheres to the Equality Act, when considering how they offer products and services to people that have had cancer.

3. Two case studies showing potential terms for life insurance and income protection, for people that have had cancer.

Please let us know if you have any thoughts on what we have been discussing.

Next time I have Sue Kinsella from RedArc Nurses joining me. We are going to be talking through a typical day in the life of a RedArc nurse and how they help families through some of the most challenging experiences in their lives.

Hi Everyone,

We are onto episode 2 of season 2 and this time I have Roger Edwards with me.

Roger is an independent marketing consultant and has worked within the insurance world for many years. He is bringing his experience to help us understand how to avoid enraging customers.

My 3 key takeaways,

1. Trust in insurance is the basis for people engaging and not engaging with our sector.

2. Roger's 3 key communication tips: assume your client knows nothing about your product/service, speak in their language and avoid jargon!

3. Roger's experience of difficulties placing a life insurance claim.

Please let us know if you have any thoughts on what we have been discussing. Roger has an award winning podcast of his own the Marketing and Finance Podcast, that you can find on all major podcast platforms.

Roger is also an avid vlogger and has a popular youtube channel that you can watch. You'll find a lot of his travel videos there amongst other bits, one was even spotted and landed him a feature in a National Geographic documentary!

Next time I have Leo Miles from Macmillan Cancer Support joining me. We are going to be talking about cancer and insurance.

Hi Everyone,

This is my first solo hosting episode, please be gentle with me!

Catherine Morgan is joining me to start off this season. We are talking about people's mindsets, embedded beliefs that dictate how we feel about finances and whether we do or don't trust insurance. I came away with some personal revelations about how my money mindset has been shaped since childhood.

We also chat about Catherine's experience applying for insurance having had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and a recent claim on private medical insurance.

Our 3 key takeaways,

1. 90% of our decisions are based upon emotions.

2. The typical types of questions that will be asked about post traumatic stress disorder and eating disorders, when you apply for protection insurance.

3. Two case study clients that have experienced PTSD and the insurances that were available to them, including a specific life insurance that has a permanent self-harm and suicide exclusion.

Catherine owns The Money Panel and has her own podcast In Her Financial Shoes. This year she has also launched a financial coaching programme and I recommend that you take a look at it.

I hope that you enjoy this episode (quickly hides in case solo hosting isn't my strongest skill!). Next time I have Roger Edwards joining me and we are going to be talking about what we like in marketing and insurance, and some no nos.

Hi Everyone,

In this episode we are chatting about HIV with our guest Rosalie Hayes from the National Aids Trust. Rosalie is chatting about the insurance from the viewpoint of people that are living with HIV, the barriers that have been faced, where insurance seems to be getting better and how there needs to be a clear focus on fair and reasonable terms of cover.

Our 3 key takeaways,

1. There are around 100,000 people living with HIV in the UK.

2. The need to ensure that all insurance decisions adhere to the Equalities Act.

3. Two case study clients who are living with HIV and were able to access life insurance and income protection.

We always love to hear from you, please do let us know your thoughts of the podcast and if you like what we are doing. In the next episode, Kathryn will have her first solo outing with another guest for the start of Season 2.

Hi Everyone,

In this episode we are chatting about diabetes. We try and keep the inevitable chat over coronavirus to a minimum in these episodes, but it's well and truly everywhere throughout this one. There have been some significant links between coronavirus deaths and diabetes and this has understandably changed the way that insurers are offering cover.

We chat through potential insurance terms for diabetics pre-covid, during lockdown and what we hope will happen post coronavirus.

Our 3 key takeaways,

1. 1 in every 15 people in the UK has diabetes.

2. The importance of self-knowledge and engagement with medical advice, in determining the potential terms of insurance.

3. Case study client that was able to have life insurance and income protection, with a number of medical conditions including type 1 diabetes.

We always love to hear from you, please do let us know your thoughts of the podcast and if you like what we are doing. In the next episode we will have another guest on with us and we will be chatting about insurance and people living with HIV.

Hi Everyone

This is our first podcast episode that really tries to lay bare, what can happen if you apply for insurance when you have a mental health condition.

The main bits:

1. What insurers want to know about your mental health
2. Why they even ask
3. What happens when you apply for cover
4. What are the risks
5. What you can expect

We have deliberately done this episode shorter than usual, so that we focus upon the key things that you need to know and don't waffle on about a load of unnecessary bits (we're both wafflers!).

Hi Everyone!

Today we are thrilled to have Kara Gammell joining us on the podcast.

Kara is an award winning financial journalist with a passion for talking about money, shown in her money saving blog 'Your Best Friends Guide to Cash' and book that you can buy here.

Kara is a big advocate of income protection. In this episode she talks about her childhood living in a household where both parents were medically retired and claiming on income protection.

Hearing Kara talk about how income protection supported her parents, really brings home what we are trying to achieve within the insurance world.

Our 3 key takeaways:

1. The non-monetary benefits of income protection.
2. The value of income protection to the policyholder's family.
3. Two case studies from the Seven Families campaign.

As with all of our episodes, we love your feedback! Please let us know what you think and if you have any suggestions for future episodes pop up a message.

Come back to listen to us in a couple of weeks time when we are going to be talking about diabetes.

Hi everyone, we have Alan Knowles back with us and we are taking a look at how lifestyles can affect options and pricing of life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection. Being a smoker usually doubles your premiums for protection insurance, as the stats show that you are far more likely to make a claim on the insurances. Not only this, but being a smoker can lead to your applications being declined depending upon your medical history.

Alcohol can also have quite an influence on options for insurance. If you’d had a few intense drinking sessions in your late teens early twenties and your GP said to calm it down, that might not be too much of a concern to some insurer. But, there’s often a question about ever being told to reduce your alcohol consumption, that can lead to quite a different insurance journey if the answer is yes.

The key takeaways:

• Some insurers class you as a non-smoker after 5 years or no nicotine consumption, for others it’s up to 5 years
• The weekly limits for alcohol consumption in the UK have changed, and it’s affecting insurance applications
• Two case studies of arranging life insurance for people who have had excessive alcohol consumption in the past

Next time Alan is going to be back with me and we are going to be talking about underwriting of chronic fatigue/ME.  

Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi Everyone!

Today we are so pleased to have Steve Casey joining us on the podcast.

Steve has worked within financial services for many years, but that is not the focus of this episode. In 2018 Steve had a stroke, completely out of the blue, in his words it came with a bang.

This episode is focused upon hearing Steve's story, how it felt to have a stroke, what happened and how his recovery has been. We then venture a little bit into his experience of making a claim on his critical illness insurances afterwards and what he is up to now.

He is an incredible guy and we hope that you enjoy listening to him.

Our 3 key takeaways:

1. The FAST stroke test.
2. You do not always experience facial weakness and loss of arm strength, when having a stroke.
3. Two case study clients that had experienced strokes, that were able to access protection insurance.

As with all of our episodes, we love your feedback! Please let us know what you think and if you have any suggestions for future episodes pop up a message.

Next time we have another mystery guest, focusing upon the importance of income protection.

Hi Everyone!

Things have been incredibly interesting in the insurance world recently (yes, we know, you can count on us to be the life and souls of a party!).

In this episode we are focusing upon multiple sclerosis and how the new world of insurance, is treating applications from people living with the condition. As always Kathryn poses a few challenges to Andrew on why insurers work the way that they do.

From an advisers mind "outside" of an insurer, there are some things that seem like they should be pretty easy changes. Andrew brings his technical knowledge to the chat, to explain why insurers work in the ways that they do, the reasons why some barriers to insurance still remain in place, and also his view on areas where insurers could adapt more.

Our 3 key takeaways:

1. There are 130,000 people living with MS in the UK.
2. Some tips for advisers on how to support clients with MS applying for insurance, during the coronavirus pandemic.
3. Two case study clients living with multiple sclerosis, that were able to access protection insurance.

We hope that you find this episode informative and thought-provoking. We are trying to keep these episodes balanced to show the positives of the insurance world, whilst also not pretending that everything is perfect.

As with all of our episodes, we love your feedback! Please let us know what you think and if you have any suggestions for future episodes pop up a message.

Next time we are focusing on Strokes with a mystery guest.

Hi Everyone!

We are absolutely thrilled this week to be joined by our first guest, Mike Adams OBE. Mike is an incredible speaker and advocate for improving access to products and services, for people with disabilities.

Mike's organisation Purple have gained significant attention in recent years with Purple Tuesday, a day where all organisations are asked to truly think about how they can improve access to their offerings.

This mindset to improve accessibility, shouldn't just be one day a year, it should be embedded in a company's ethos. In this episode we talk with Mike about how the insurance industry has made big improvements to improving access to insurance and we also chat about where things could still be better.

Our 3 key takeaways:

1. The consumer spending power of the disabled community, the Purple Pound, stands at £249 billion per year!
2. For years people with disabilities have asked for and many have been denied support to work from home. The coronavirus lockdown has shown that this is possible for many organisation to adapt to employees working from home.
3. There are roughly 300,000 people per year that need additional medical underwriting for protection insurance. Insurers need to develop ways to adapt their medical underwriting processes, due to the limitations on medical resources that coronavirus is causing.

We hope that you enjoy this episode. Mike has a wealth of experience and knowledge on how to break down barriers, so that people living with disabilities are treated fairly by organisations. We hope that his message of a continued need for equality in these troubling times, is heard by all.

As with all of our episodes, we love your feedback! Please let us know what you think and if you have any suggestions for future episodes pop up a message.

Next time we are focusing on Multiple Sclerosis