Paymentshield has launched its first CPD resource centre to provide business support to advisers during the coronavirus crisis.
Aimed at developing general insurance (GI) knowledge, the resources are designed to help protect and grow adviser income.
It follows recent research conducted by Paymentshield with 215 advisers, which highlighted that many struggle to sell GI or do not recognise the value it can bring. The findings revealed that 60% of respondents miss opportunities to sell GI, with 45% saying that less than a quarter of the advisers in their wider business actively sell GI.
The insurance provider says its CPD pack provides advisers with the tools and resources they need to address this and bolster their businesses – many of which will have seen a decline in more traditional income streams as a result of coronavirus.
Comprised of e-books, whitepapers, and webinars, the resources aim to prevent missed opportunities and facilitate more GI sales, helping advisers to supplement their income. The pack includes resources that focus on overcoming barriers to GI conversations, provide insight into the habits of effective GI sellers, and explain how technology can support sales.
It also provides practical steps on what direct activities advisers should be focusing on now, following any decline in new business caused by coronavirus. This includes contacting existing customers to offer a review of their financial situation and products; seizing the opportunity presented by remortgage and product transfer clients; and contacting back book customers who didn’t previously purchase home insurance or might have an upcoming renewal date.
Collectively, the resources contribute approximately seven hours of unstructured learning (based on reading time) towards the 15-hour CPD requirement that forms part of the Insurance Distribution Directive.
The CPD resources have already been downloaded over 300 times by individual advisers after launching last week.
Advisers can access the CPD resources through the Paymentshield Adviser Hub, or here: https://www.paymentshieldadvisers.co.uk/support.
Emma Green, Paymentshield’s head of sales, said: “The coronavirus has had a big impact on a lot of adviser businesses, with many property transactions on hold and access to lending becoming more challenging. We don’t know how long this will last, so it’s really important that advisers maximise all the opportunities within their existing client bank. As an annual renewable policy, GI presents a great opportunity to do just that.
“Our CPD resources provide guidance on how to get started, examples of GI best practice, and how advisers can turn GI into a lucrative area of their business. We hope that they will help advisers become more confident and successful in their GI approach, especially those that might not have looked at GI in a while.
“Since the onset of the virus, we have already seen more advisers turn to GI to supplement their income. On 1 April, we saw a 50% increase in GI sales versus the same day last year, and we are continually seeing more advisers start to quote. GI is a fantastic way to help advisers navigate the current storm, but it should also become part of the advice process long term, and we really hope that advisers maintain this habit when things get back to normal.
“If an adviser sells four GI policies per month over a period of five years, that’s worth almost £50,000 in commission – a nice income to have when times are tough.”