Share
Clients without IP risk financial ruin
In this economic climate the consequences of losing a job could be crippling, particularly if clients have dependants or debts to repay.
The average household debt in the UK excluding mortgages is £9,120 and somebody is declared bankrupt or insolvent every 3.7 minutes.
A quarter of parents with young children have no savings or investments and a third of families could not survive a month if their income stopped. This is not a description of the most needy but a picture of the average person.
Many individuals may have modest debts but most have done little in the way of saving or financial planning. In the words of Bon Jovi - “We’re only two pay cheques away from living on the street”. Some are even closer than that.
High debt and low savings coupled with the rising cost of living have placed increasing pressure on us all. Household costs have risen
dramatically. Gas and electricity bills have more than doubled in the past five years, from an average of £580 in 2004 to £1,243 in 2009. And this trend is set to continue.
The consequences for your clients if they are unable to earn a wage have never been more apparent so the opportunity to sell the benefits of income protection, which pays out if a client is unable to work due to illness or accidental injury, are equally clear.
And with less than 20% of the working population having IP there’s a big market to tap into.
ED STUART-BROWN
HEAD OF PROTECTION SALES
FRIENDS PROVIDENT
If you enjoyed this article, sign up here to receive daily email updates from Mortgage Strategy and Follow @mortgagestrat
