Harsh questions now will help clients later

21 March 2011 | By Sophie Hall, Director of business development, IntelliFlo

Japan’s tragedy is a stark reminder for us to get our lives in perspective and think about all that really matters.

Protecting our families is a natural instinct at times of crisis and danger, yet why are we so bad as a nation in protecting our families against financial hardship in the event of death or critical illness?

Latest figures put the gap into millions of pounds. Interestingly, I’ve been redesigning our protection fact-find and discussing adding more probing questions on whether mortgages and debts would be cleared if the client were to die or suffer a critical illness.

Most brokers I’ve spoken to have embraced the questions. Some IT systems even allow clients to log on and complete the fact-find prior to their appointment, giving them a chance to reflect on the questions.

But some advisers say such questions are too harsh for customers.

However uncomfortable the topic, one day your clients may just thank you for looking after them.

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