A Review of Protection Service - 2011

It is desirable for advisers, having convinced clients of the need for protection, to be able to get the business in place quickly. Applications must be processed promptly and within agreed timescales. Time is money and nobody wants the sales process to be drawn out any longer than is necessary.

Our survey of 500 advisers who deal in individual protection products found that the aspect of service regarded as being most important is a provider's ability to process new business applications in a timely manner. Our study also found that this element of service is now seen as more important than it was a year ago.

It is important for advisers to stay up to date with how providers in the individual protection market are viewed in terms of service quality. By comparing their own views and experiences to those of their peers, advisers will be in a stronger position to identify partners whose propositions meet the needs of the end client and their business.

Our free review of protection service shows which providers were rated as the top performers across timely processing of applications and 40 other service categories, including:

• Consistency of underwriting decisions
• Underwriting speed
• Claims payment timeliness
• Treating customers fairly