For this month’s In Focus campaign across IFA Magazine’s New Insurance and Protection, we turn our attention to how the insurance and protection sector can better understand, engage, and serve the next generation of financial clients.
Drawing on insights from across the industry, we explore a key question: how can insurers and advisers better connect with younger audiences and demonstrate the value of protection earlier in their financial journey?
Here, industry experts share their views.
Andy Philo, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Vitality comments:
“Our experience suggests younger clients are far more open to protection than is often assumed. However, while many understand the need for cover, there is still a gap between recognising its importance and taking action. To address this, the sector needs to move away from positioning protection as something that only delivers value at the point of claim.
We find that protection resonates more strongly with younger generations when it is connected to everyday life, financial resilience and long‑term wellbeing. We find they are looking for products that support them through changing circumstances, not just in moments of crisis. That creates an opportunity for the industry to demonstrate and deliver value earlier and more consistently across the policy lifecycle.
Advisers have a central role to play in reframing protection as a proactive foundation of financial planning, which can help clients recognise value throughout and support their goals rather than viewing it as a future obligation.
At Vitality, we see how protection can help support healthier behaviours and financial resilience. By reframing protection as a proactive product, we enable members to see value throughout the life of the plan, making protection more tangible, meaningful and relevant for the next generation.”
Laura Mitchell, Marketing Manager, at Guardian:
“If the protection industry genuinely wants to engage younger clients, we need to stop waiting for them to reach the “right” life stage and start meeting them where they are. Too often, protection is positioned as something you buy once you’ve ticked off a mortgage, marriage, or children – milestones that many younger people are reaching later. That doesn’t make protection irrelevant for young people, but it does mean our messaging needs to evolve.
Younger clients already understand risk. For many young people, income is their biggest asset, yet we rarely lead with that. They think about paying rent, keeping their independence, and the life they’re building. The challenge is making protection feel relevant to those priorities.
By framing protection around their ‘must haves’ – be that their car, their gym membership, or rent payments – we stand a better chance of helping them see the value in protection.
Protection shouldn’t feel like a distant, future consideration. If we want younger clients to see its value earlier, we need to change not just what we say, but when and how we say it. And, as a result, we can help younger clients see protection as a practical tool that supports their choices today, not just a safeguard for the future.”
Lucy Brown, Insurer Partnerships Director, Reassured:
“Most people purchase life insurance following a life event such as taking out a mortgage or starting a family. Yet with high property prices and the rising cost of living, the average age of both first-time buyers and new parents is increasing and engagement with younger age groups around the need for protection remains low.
A key challenge for the industry, therefore, is to raise awareness earlier and educate those of school age not only about the financial benefits of life, illness and income protection but also the health and mental wellbeing benefits they offer, access to 24/7 GP, mental health services and nutrition advice and screening.
This could be included as part of the planned new V Levels, which come into effect in England in 2027 and which cover personal finance. There is an opportunity to focus on more than just credit cards and mortgages, but also to emphasise the importance of protection in underpinning financial resilience.
Young consumers are used to the convenience of purchasing most things online instantly, so alongside an educational focus, it is essential that we develop journeys and products that provide 24/7 digital access to buy simple, straightforward protection that is clear and easy to understand.”
