The Practical Protection Podcast

Hi, everyone! I have ended up out of sequence! Last time I said we would be back with an episode on fatty liver disease, but the FCA has published its Protection Market Interim Report, and I absolutely had to cover this.The good news is that the FCA thinks that the protection industry is working really well, it just needs a couple of tweaks. Overall, I am really happy with what the report says, but there are some areas I don’t agree with and you can hear my views in this episode. I am going through their review of insurance costs, claims, complaints, the role of commissions, restricted panels, loaded premiums and more.The key takeaways:Within pure protection products, income protection has the lowest value in terms of cost compared to claims success, but is still much higher than other insurancesLoaded premiums, commission and restricted panels have been analysed and shown to not show significant detriment to consumersClosing the Protection Gap remains one of the key challenges for the protection insurance industryThere are a lot of insights in the report and it is well worth a read. I’ve tried to pick out certain pages to direct you to, in case you don’t fancy the full thing, it is 47 pages.Next time Alan will be back with me and we will be covering how fatty liver disease and protection insurance work.Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors PlannerX.

Hi, everyone! As I am sure you can imagine I am always looking for ideas about what to cover in the podcast. We’ve done lots on health conditions, I’ve done deep dives into insurance products, commented on market developments, but I was absolutely shocked to realise I have not done a specific episode of vulnerable clients.Most of you probably recognise my name as a specialist protection insurance adviser and really specifically someone that helps people with higher health risks. I’ve often spoken about the needs of vulnerable clients and been involved in multiple industry events for this topic. I’ve even won an award or two.So it seems silly that I have not covered this before and I am going to make sure that I give you as many tips as I can during the episode.The key takeaways:Examples of common vulnerabilitiesGuidance on how to build a vulnerable client registerWays to support your clients and your employees/colleagues when discussing vulnerable situationsVulnerability is very subjective and it can also change over time. Sometimes people can think, well we’ve never come across this before and we will just handle it if it happens. Which you can do, but it is much easier if you have a clear structured process in place. Your clients and your colleagues will thank you for it.Next time Alan Knowles will be back with me and we will be deep diving into fatty liver disease.Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors PlannerX.

Hi everyone, we are back and talking about the use of weight loss drugs and getting protection insurance. Millions of people in the UK are now taking drugs like mounjaro and ozempic, to help them reach a healthy weight.Health professionals and insurers have said for many years that having a higher BMI isn’t healthy and can lead to long-term health complications. Weight loss drugs are proving to be a highly effective way for people to lose weight, which is generally seen as a good thing. But, there are side effects to taking the drugs too and at the moment there is very little long-term data to know what this may mean for someone 5, 10, 15 or 20 years down the line.The key takeaways:The use of weight loss drugs is showing very positive results from short-term dataThere is not enough long-term data around the use of mounjaro, ozempic, or other weight loss drugs, for insurers to completely understand client risksTwo case studies of arranging life insurance for people who are taking or have taken mounjaroIt has been a super intense start to the year, we were caught in the snow and school snow days have certainly had an impact on my timings. At this moment I’m not sure what the next episode will be covering but make sure to tune it as I will be bringing you even more protection insurance insights.Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors PlannerX.

Hi everyone, we are talking about neurofibromatosis, a rare condition that causes tumours to develop in the body. The tumours are not usually cancerous, but it is still a condition that can lead insurers to take an extra look at the insurance application. There are three types of neurofibromatosis and each of them are reviewed by the insurers on a case by case basis, as the symptoms and affect on a person’s life can vary so greatly.The key takeaways:Neurofibromatosis can cause difficulties for the skin, nerves, heart, bone development, balance, hearing and more.Neurofibromatosis can lead to other conditions such as epilepsy, scoliosis, deafness and vision loss.Two case studies of arranging life insurance for people living with neurofibromatosis.This is our final episode of 2025 and I hope that you all have a lovely festive period and come back in 2026 feeling super refreshed and ready to learn more about protection insurance. .Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors PlannerX.

Hi everyone, I have been taking at look at the recent paper from the FCA, that has been written to give an initial view of how the industry works, the players in it, potential consumers and outcomes from accessing insurance.Overall I think the paper was really well written and gave an accurate portrayal of the industry. It was clearly written and not too long, so I would recommend giving it a read if you can. I’m not a data lover, but, they did have some stats in the paper that really stood out and I think are brilliant examples of how intermediaries are in this space.The key takeaways:In 2023 individual protection insurance claims totalled £4.85 billion.97% of income protection sales are advised, we’re doing an amazing job!Key focuses of the review are going to be ensuring effective competition, addressing the protection gap for vulnerable consumers, assessing influence of distribution channels on consumer outcomes, and reviewing commission and broking practices.Next time Alan is going to be back with me and we are going to be talking about arranging protection insurance for people living with neurofibromatosis.Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors PlannerX.

Hi everyone, Alan is joining me again to give us all insights into arranging protection insurance for someone living with cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is a condition that can be difficult to insure for life insurance. Historically, the life expectancy of a person living with cystic fibrosis has been much lower than average, which means that insurers see it as quite a high risk for a claim. The good news is that modern medicine has now significantly improved the outlook and half of people living with CF are now likely to live to at least the age of 56.Unfortunately standard routes for personal critical illness cover and income protection are not currently available. The absolutely best way to be covered by these insurances is through group cover through an employer, but even then there can still be some technicalities that can cause an issue at point of claim.The key takeaways:Approximately 11,000 are affected by cystic fibrosis in the UK and 1 in 25 people carry the gene without knowing itThe median age for people living with cystic fibrosis that died in 2022, was the age of 33.Three case studies of arranging life insurance for people living with cystic fibrosis.Next time I am going to be talking about the FCA’s recent protection insurance paper and my interpretation of what this means for our industry going forward.Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, I am taking another focus on Trusts this week. This time I am looking specifically at critical illness cover, as there are some potential issues that could be faced for vulnerable clients, including people who are experiencing economic abuse.There is a huge drive in our industry to place policies into Trust. It’s the kind of thing where I might potentially do a compliance fail with my team if a policy hasn’t been put in Trust where there’s a really simple online system to do so. (I know, I’m a battle-axe!) But, they are really so important and there are not many occasions when a Trust isn’t relevant or easy to do.However, there’s an emerging problem with critical illness policies placed into Trust.The key takeaways:To make a claim on a critical illness policy, all trustees must sign the claim formA critical illness policy placed within a Trust could be a vehicle for an abusive Trustee to prevent a client from receiving vital financial supportInsurers are aware of this issue, but there are no ways to improve the process, with current Trust formatsNext time, Alan will be back with me and we are going to be going through protection insurance options for people living with cystic fibrosis. If you have tried to get cover for clients in the past with cystic fibrosis, you’ve probably seen how difficult it can be. We’re going to be taking you through the different options that you can consider.Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, Alan is back with me and this time we are focusing on coeliac disease. A lot of people think of gluten when they hear coeliac disease and have a feeling that all it means is don’t eat bread, pasta, etc. But, it can be much more than that when it comes to underwriting.A lot of the time coeliac disease is not a concern to insurers looking at life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection. However there are quite a few things you should check with your client about the condition, before you assume that their insurance applications will be accepted at standard terms.The key takeaways:Approximately 1 in every 100 people are coeliac and it is estimated that around 500,000 people are undiagnosed in the UKWhilst it is not common, coeliac disease can increase the risk of other medical conditions such as bowel cancerThree case studies of arranging protection insurance for people living with coeliac diseaseNext time I am going to be focusing upon critical illness cover being written into Trust. There are some specific technicalities at the point of the claim that are worth knowing, so that you can properly advise your clients about placing the cover into Trust or not.Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, we are back after the lovely summer of 2025. One thing I love about the insurance world is how you can never know everything, there is always so much more to understand and consider. I have a few episodes coming up that have been in the background of my mind for a while. I like to make sure that I have seen things from all angles before I bring it to you.For the first episode of Season 11 I am taking you some things to consider for joint life second death versus single life cover. You might be thinking, hang on what is Kathryn on about, those types of policies are for different things. It is a unique set of circumstances that I am talking through, but still very important to know.When I was recording this I realised that what I’m covering is really quite technical and I jump about a bit, between different areas. I’m sorry! There was no way to easily avoid it. The key takeaways:Joint life second death policies with a notional decline, cost the same as a single life policyPros and cons of a single life policy being arranged instead of JLSDA case study example of costing for a JLSD policy and JLSD with a notional declineI’ve also got some exciting news for the podcast, exciting to me anyway. My eldest son Theodore turns 14 soon and is going to start working for me. So all things podcast related including your CPD certificates will soon be done by him.Next time Alan will be back with me and we will be chatting through arranging protection insurance when you have coeliac disease. There has been some changes when it comes to underwriting that we will be going through.Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, we are closing off season 10 with a very personal episode, with Phil Jeynes joining me to talk about his experience of being diagnosed with bowel cancer. Last time Kate Baldry gave us brilliant insights into bowel cancer data and how out of all the claims she had looked at, no-one had anything in their own health or family medical history, that placed them at a higher risk of developing bowel cancer. Or no specific definite patterns that are currently being seen.Phil shares with us that this was his experience too. Prior to his diagnosis Phil had none of the traditional things in his life that would make him stand out as someone that might develop bowel cancer. It was a huge shock to him and his family, and Phil talks about what it felt like to go receive his diagnosis, treatment and how he is now.The key takeaways:Even if you don’t fit the usual checklist of someone that is at risk of bowel cancer, if you experience any symptoms it’s always best to see your doctor, just in caseIt can take a while for your body to recover from bowel cancer and Phil is still working on this 2 years laterPrivate medical insurance can work alongside NHS services to get you the diagnosis and treatment you need, as soon as possibleThis is the last episode of season 10 and there will be a little break while the summer holidays are with us. Do you have anything that you would like to see covered in Season 11? Get in touch and let me know!  Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, I have Kate Baldry joining me today to share her insights into early onset colo-rectal cancer, a diagnosis that is happening more and more. As a Research and Development Underwriter at Hannover Re, Kate has incredible access and insight to claims and health data. Kate has been spending time analysing the increasing rate of bowel cancer diagnoses and any trends that could be causing this.It was particularly interesting for me as Kate shares that some of the patterns that they have seen are due to people being tall, healthy BMI and having their gallbladder removed - I hit all three of these! The main takeaway that I have from our chat is that whilst these factors might contribute to bowel cancer diagnosis, at the moment it is still very much an unknown. There are a lot of theories but no definitive reason as to why bowel cancer diagnoses are increasing.The key takeaways:Early onset bowel cancer is when there is a diagnosis before the age of 50Deep dives into claims have shown that many claimants had no family history of bowel cancer or other disclosures related to digestive health The TNM score of the bowel cancer diagnosis is essential in determining what the options for protection insurance will beNext time I will be joined by Phil Jeynes, who will be sharing with us his story of a bowel cancer diagnosis and what life has been like for him since.  Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, Lisa Balboa is back and she is sharing her insights into how AI is helping insurance across the world. I am quite a reluctant AI enthusiast as I’m always nervous it means less people involved in decisions, but Lisa brilliantly explains how AI is working alongside people to improve access to insurance and better claims experiences. With insights from Australia, China, South Africa and America, Lisa shares different approaches to insurance outside of the UK market. The key takeaways:AI can be used to proactively look through medical records of declined applications, to see if the ‘computer says no’ has been too harshAI can be develop and grow over time, so that it can make more automated decisions, freeing up underwriters to focus on the more complex cases AI can play a fundamental role in preventative healthcare by spotting early changes in health Next time I will be joined by Kate Baldry, Research and development underwriter at Hannover Re, talking about her insights into colo-rectal cancer.  Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, I have five case studies for you this time. I’m going through life insurance options for gift planning and IHT planning. Arranging life insurance to protect against these taxes is often quite straightforward, but there are a number of technicalities that can mean that the ‘normal’ approach to life insurance doesn’t give your client the best outcome.Things like your client’s residency, their health and other factors, can play a big part on how your approach choosing the right insurer and life insurance product for them.The key takeaways:Three case studies of arranging life insurance in different ways for gift protection Two case studies of arrange life insurance for IHT protection Insights into how reviewable and guaranteed premiums can each work positively for your clients, depending upon their circumstances Next time I will be joined once again by Lisa Balboa, Head of Life & Health Digital Business Accelerator at Hannover Re, to talk about the latest insights into AI and insurance.  Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, we have Alan Knowles back with us and we are taking a look at how living with chronic fatigue syndrome can influence your options for life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection. Chronic fatigue syndrome or ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis) is a long term condition that can cause significant tiredness, pain, brain fog, sensitivity to light and many other things. Approximately 1.3m people are living with the condition in the UK and it can alter your options for insurance, especially critical illness cover and income protection.The key takeaways:Most critical illness policies will exclude any claims for Total Permanent DisabilityIt is likely that most options for personal income protection will not be available, but there are alternativesTwo case studies of arranging life insurance for people who are living with chronic fatigue syndromeNext time it will just be me doing the podcast and I will be focusing upon protection and IHT case studies.  Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, we have Alan Knowles back with us and we are taking a look at how lifestyles can affect options and pricing of life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection. Being a smoker usually doubles your premiums for protection insurance, as the stats show that you are far more likely to make a claim on the insurances. Not only this, but being a smoker can lead to your applications being declined depending upon your medical history.Alcohol can also have quite an influence on options for insurance. If you’d had a few intense drinking sessions in your late teens early twenties and your GP said to calm it down, that might not be too much of a concern to some insurer. But, there’s often a question about ever being told to reduce your alcohol consumption, that can lead to quite a different insurance journey if the answer is yes.The key takeaways:Some insurers class you as a non-smoker after 5 years or no nicotine consumption, for others it’s up to 5 yearsThe weekly limits for alcohol consumption in the UK have changed, and it’s affecting insurance applicationsTwo case studies of arranging life insurance for people who have had excessive alcohol consumption in the pastNext time Alan is going to be back with me and we are going to be talking about underwriting of chronic fatigue/ME.  Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, I have Lee Doran from William Russell with me. As the International Underwriting Manager Lee has an incredible knowledge of how protection insurance works across the UK and the rest of the world. With 20 years experience as an underwriter, he has seen and heard pretty much everything.In this episode we talk about Ukraine, Russia, the US and how getting insurance isn’t the easiest thing to do. Lee takes us through how international insurance can make things far simpler for clients who move countries, if they need to make a claim.  We also take you through some key points about admitted, non-admitted, group and individual protection.The key takeaways:International protection insurance options change quickly depending upon the health, social, political, financial and environmental situations of a country.There are some countries where you will simply not be able to arrange protection insurance for if you plan to travel or live there. There can be super specialist options, but it is pretty much guaranteed that the policy will exclude claims that happen in the sanctioned/restricted country.A case study looking at quite a straightforward international client requirement, and another case study of a more complex situation.Next time Alan is going to be back with me and we are going to be talking about underwriting updates for cigarettes and alcohol.  Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

Hi everyone, we have Jo Miller back with us to talk about all things Income Protection. The last time Jo joined us was in 2023 to talk about the brilliant Income Protection Taskforce and there have been a lot of changes since then. With a new Board and lots of changes in the IP world, Jo is bringing us some great insights from the IPTF profile of an IP customer report.We are going through what’s working well in the IP world and what we would like to see change if we had a magic wand. I know that my magic wand wish will not be popular with many people!The key takeaways:Men are still far more likely to take out income protection than women The IPTF are wanting to promote the way that ASU products can work, where income protection is not possibleA case study of arranging income protection for a Barrister, where you must be on top of how the deferred period is going to work with their ongoing income streamNext time Lee Doran from William Russell is joining me to discuss international protection insurance. We’ve been planning what we will chat about and I’m very excited as I advise in this area, and we’re really going to get into why underwriting international cover is not always straightforward.Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website.

Hi everyone, we are back with an insurance underwriting consideration that I cannot believe we haven’t covered before: high BMI! We’ve talked about BMI in the past, but not done a specific episode, which is so bizarre as it’s something that I think every adviser has come across at some point.High BMI affects life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection applications in different ways. Depending upon the BMI there can be ratings to the premium, the need for medicals, application declines and specialist insurers, popping up at different times. BMI tables are very outdated, however they are one of the simplest ways for insurers to get an overall sense of a person’s health quickly, which can speed up insurance applications.The key takeaways:A high BMI is linked to the development of diabetes, heart attack, cancer, stroke and many long term income protection claimsBMI assessments can work brilliant if you’re a white european male born in the early 1800s (aka they are very outdated and don’t take into account different genders or ethnicities!)Three cases studies of arranging protection insurance for people living with a high BMI, including someone with a BMI of 83I am back next time with Jo Miller from the Income Protection Taskforce to discuss what is going on in the IP world. I’m a huge fan of IP, it’s arguably the most useful protection insurance for someone working in the UK, and it can be moulded to meet your client’s needs in so many ways.Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website.