The Later Life Academy (LLA) has announced The National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) as its latest Product Ambassador.
Each LLA Ambassador focuses on a specific sector within later life advice and NAFD, in association with Ecclesiastical Insurance, will provide core support and resources to LLA members in the area of funeral planning.
NAFD, in partnership with Ecclesiastical, has been a provider in the funeral planning arena for a number of years and its pre-paid plan, which is branded as Perfect Choice Funeral Plans, allows individuals to set aside money to cover the costs of their funeral.
NAFD is a trade association for funeral directors with over 900 member firms. NAFD members carry out over 80% of all funerals in the UK and follow a strict code of practice. Since 2006 the NAFD has been working in partnership with Ecclesiastical Insurance to provide a high quality funeral pre-payment plan. Ecclesiastical also provides a broad range of insurance, financial services and risk management solutions to meet the specific needs of customers and business partners.
NAFD and Ecclesiastical will now work with the LLA and its members to help develop their understanding of funeral planning and the options that are available to clients in this product area. As an Ambassador of the Academy, NAFD and Ecclesiastical are jointly committed to developing learning and training modules in respect of funeral plans. They will also actively work with members to help them secure greater business levels.
LLA was launched at the start of 2014 and offers later life advisers across product areas such as funeral planning, equity release, long-term care, and annuities, with access to training and sales support. At the same time it is developing commercial opportunities for members through its relationships with Product Ambassadors.
Stuart Wilson, managing partner of Equity Advice and Later Life Academy, said: “Our roster of Product Ambassadors continues to grow and the addition of the NAFD, in association with Ecclesiastical, to the Academy is particularly pleasing as we have always maintained strong links with Ecclesiastical.
“It is also vital that we have an established and respected provider of pre-paid funeral plans on board as this is an area which is often overlooked by advisers when it comes to the later life needs of their client base. Now, however, with the support of the team at the NAFD and Ecclesiastical we will be able to provide our members with quality information, support, training and resources in order that they can fully understand the funeral planning sector and the potential opportunities that exist within it.
“Our membership base at the Academy continues to grow and our focus remains on raising standards, providing advisers with access to product and sector knowledge but also expanding our network of financial advisers. We urge any adviser active in the later life space to review our proposition and learn how we can help develop their business in what is a growing and hugely exciting space.”
Chris Clark, head of Ecclesiastical Life at Ecclesiastical Insurance, added: “We are delighted to have been selected by the Later Life Academy as Product Ambassador for funeral plans. We are looking forward to working with the LLA team and membership to raise standards and provide educational resources to advisers.”
