A new survey, which collected data from 162 mortgage advisers, has found that almost all advisers believe it’s best practice to speak to their clients about general insurance, with 94% saying so.
In addition, 60% of advisers who responded to the poll from PMS Mortgage Club and general insurance provider Paymentshield also consider general insurance to be a good source of income.
However, recent figures from Paymentshield show that, on average, only 37% of mortgage applications are having a general insurance quote applied. The firm says that the results indicate that, while advisers are aware of the benefits of discussing general insurance – both to their clients and themselves – many are still failing to do so.
The same survey found that 34% of advisers point to a lack of time as the main reason they don’t quote for general insurance, with the same proportion of respondents saying they don’t feel confident with their product knowledge in that area.
The results come as Paymentshield launches its No Excuses initiative, which aims to target mortgage advisers who have previously struggled, for whatever reason, to provide their clients with advice on general insurance and highlight the range of options and support now available.
James Watson, sales director at Paymentshield, said: “There are still many advisers, even the most experienced, who avoid talking about general insurance due to a perceived lack of time, resource or knowledge. If time is genuinely a problem then advisers should consider routes to offer a more complete service by referring business or employing a general insurance specialist.
“However, if advisers prefer to offer clients continuity of care by arranging insurance the general insurance themselves then they can save time by using our panel of insurers and lean on the support of our business development team, as well as over 60 individual resources in our adviser marketing toolkit.
“The results of the survey with PMS demonstrate the huge potential out there for additional work that is currently going untapped. What’s more, this means there are homeowners leaving their mortgage application process feeling unsupported and most likely turning to online aggregator sites for insurance products which, as we know, can be problematic to say the least.”
Mark Graves, managing director at PMS, added: “While quotes for general insurance are on the rise – with us noting a year-on-year increase of 43% across our Group – there is certainly room for improvement. Our survey shows that, while advisers are conscious of their responsibility to offer general insurance, they don’t always execute this duty of care on a day-to-day basis.
“Clients need to feel reassured that they’re receiving the right recommendations and that they’re being supported by someone who understands the market and can offer appropriate solutions. It’s this sort of end-to-end service that results in a fully protected home and clients who feel secure. We hope to see general insurance quotes continue to improve as advisers take advantage of the vast amount of support now available.”