Income Protection Action Week: helping advisers put income at the heart of client conversations

September 26, 2025

This year’s Income Protection Action Week shines a spotlight on the vital role advisers play in helping clients protect what matters most – their income. With that in mind, L&G Retail’s Market Development Director, Vikki Jefferies, explains why leading with income in client conversations can be a simple yet powerful approach. By encouraging clients to consider how long their employer would support them in the event of illness, advisers can help map out a realistic financial timeline, highlight potential income gaps, and demonstrate the tangible value of income protection.

Vikki Jefferies, Market Development Director, L&G Retail:

“We know all too well that too many people risk trying to get by without adequate protection. Income Protection Action Week offers a timely opportunity for advisers to commit to talking about protecting income in every conversation with clients – not just during the week, but in all of their ongoing interactions. A useful concept for advisers to commit to is to lead conversations with income. A simple way to start this is to ask their clients how long their employer will pay them in the event of illness. This can help develop a timeline; establish how long funds, like sick pay and additional savings, can sustain them in the event of illness or injury, and identify whether income protection is needed to bridge the income gap.

L&G’s latest claims data showed that the average age of a person claiming on their income protection policy is 41 years old. In their 40s, people might think of themselves making meaningful strides in their career, growing their families and moving up the property ladder. While clients may feel like they’re “not old enough” to need income protection, the data paints a different picture.

An additional challenge is that the increased cost of living has left many clients with less to spend each month. This has made it more difficult for advisers to demonstrate the value of products like income protection to clients. To address this, advisers are positioning income protection as an affordable ‘everyday essential’ and a way for clients to safeguard their monthly expenditure. Adjusting the language used to describe the value of income protection can also be effective, and reframing income protection as a ‘private sick pay’ that kicks in after their employer’s sick pay, highlights where one ends and the other begins.

It’s essential that, ahead of meetings, clients are properly prepared by advisers to come to their discussions with information on their employee benefits, such as their sick pay arrangements. Not having this during meetings can be one of the biggest hurdles, preventing effective conversations on income protection. There are many tools that advisers can draw on to effectively prepare their clients for such conversations, such as L&G’s Plan Ahead document, which can help to capture the information needed prior to the appointment and support more meaningful conversations.”