When it comes to talking about serious illness, silence often speaks louder than words. In this exclusive feature for IFA Magazine’s new Insurance & Protection, Ed Durell, Managing Director of CoverDirect explores one of the most challenging yet vital aspects of financial advice – helping clients confront what they least want to think about: their own health and vulnerability.
Ever heard of the word nosophobia? It’s the fear of getting a serious illness. In its worse form, where it becomes uncontrollable and persistent it’s very rare. However, it’s far more common for people to have the opposite – an aversion to thinking about becoming ill and what they would do if it happened to them.
Many don’t like to talk about it, even with those closest to them, which is quite understandable. Some people are not comfortable talking about their health, and a recent survey found that more than half of respondents avoid or delay seeking medical treatment out of embarrassment.
To ensure customers get the right critical illness cover for them, advisers must find a way to get beyond this reticence. They need to have the courage to ask the important, potentially uncomfortable questions and not be put off by any sense of awkwardness. This can be far from easy, but it could be life-changing for clients.
Most critical illness insurance claims relate to three main illnesses – cancer, heart disease and strokes. The instances of all three of these are on the rise, particularly among those of working age, which makes critical illness discussion more important than ever.
Cancer rates in 25- to 49-year-olds in the UK increased by 24% between 1995 and 2019, with almost 35,000 people in this age range diagnosed in 2019. Since 2020, there has been a 21% increase in the number of people diagnosed with heart failure, and deaths in working-age adults have risen by 18%. Strokes for those aged under 55 rose by 67% between 2002 and 2018.
There are many factors accounting for this rise – poor diet, a lack of exercise, smoking, difficulties in accessing NHS services to name but a few. Understanding your clients, their lifestyle and their attitudes to health is crucial. This process will not only inform what cover is appropriate but also get them thinking about why it is important to them.
In addition, knowing if there is a history of a particular illness, such as diabetes, in the family is important to find out. This knowledge can determine what conditions need to be covered. Policies can cover around a hundred conditions and their definitions may differ, so understanding whether these are appropriate to your client’s health, history and circumstances is a must.
There is no point pretending having these conversations is easy but given the growing number of working people who are having to face the reality of a serious health condition, it is a challenge we must rise to. Listening to you clients, picking up on their cues and understanding that addressing their own mortality might be difficult will help them feel more comfortable.
If during the first conversation they are not ready to talk about it, respect their wishes. Give them time to absorb the information and consider their own circumstances. Don’t be afraid to revisit the topic later when they may feel more able to discuss it.
Taking the time to understand your clients’ circumstances and risks is critical. Why? Because understanding is the key, the key to people’s own peace of mind, their knowledge of what they can cover, what they have covered and why. Deriving value from the monthly premium they have to pay.
But this raises an important point, it isn’t just about price. Yes, it plays a role and the policy must be affordable as well as suitable. However, these conversations, this understanding for the consumer and advisor allows for detail about how many conditions are listed, and even more importantly how clearly they’re defined and whether they pay in full or in stages. While cost is important, it’s worth balancing this against how comprehensive and flexible the cover is.
The protection conversation is often the one nobody wants – but everyone should have.
Ed Durell is Managing Director of CoverDirect
