Programme
COVER Magazine is delighted to welcome you to its second regional event, COVER Summit North.
Arrive early and start the day right by enjoying our welcome breakfast!
We start off the day with a welcome from our editor, Cameron Roberts.
The theme for this year’s COVER Summit North is "Reframing protection for a resilient future".
With the FCA’s interim report on the Pure Protection Market Study now released, this session explores the regulator’s key findings and what this means for the industry.
With household budgets under pressure, protection has never been more essential. This session explores how advisers and the wider industry can reposition protection as a vital tool for building financial resilience - empowering clients with confidence, stability, and support through life’s challenges.
The Keep Britain Working report alongside the NHS Health Plan indicates that the future of wellbeing is in preventative health. Both the group and individual market is likely to be impacted by the shifting focus of healthcare services in 2026, with more providers focusing on support prior to claim. It is critical that advisers adapt to this shifting landscape to provide better customer outcomes and engage clients in services that work for them.
This session will explore:
- What preventative health looks like in 2026
- How employers are increasingly responsible for employee wellbeing
- The adviser’s role in engaging clients in added value services
Time to grab a coffee and meet our exhibitors.
As an industry, we focus heavily on product features, premiums, and policy details, but rarely on the unique value of advice for customers. From social media, community outreach and referrals, this session will showcase how advisers can promote their expertise, guidance, and support in a way that clients understand and appreciate.
This session explores alternative ways customers can protect their income beyond traditional Income Protection. From short-term IP and accident-only cover to ASU, we will examine how these products serve underserved markets such as gig and part-time workers, attract younger customers, challenge perceptions, and fit into mortgage and family income conversations. We will also offer practical guidance on customer expectations on these alternative solutions and when they make sense.
Upskilling advisers new and old is a critical part of delivering consistent client outcomes, from new advisers at smaller firms to those long in the tooth at larger brokerages, continuous development should be front of mind for intermediary leaders.
This session will cover:
- How to onboard newer advisers and key areas for immediate development.
- What more experienced advisers need in order to develop existing skills.
- Whether there is a place for sales training for advisers.
- Resources available in the market and strategies for success.
Time for lunch - grab a bite to eat in the exhibition hall and grow your network!
For many clients, mental health conditions doesn’t stop them from working, living independently, or managing their daily lives, but they can make accessing protection feel impossible. Long NHS waiting lists for referrals leave clients in limbo for months, often blocking them from the very cover they want to protect themselves and their families. In this session, advisers will explore practical ways to navigate these challenges, including using exclusions or conditional cover to provide protection against major risks.
Advisers are increasingly bearing the brunt of delays in GP reports and underwriting - facing frustrated clients and disrupted business. While service standards remain a continuous issue for the industry, this session will discuss how slow turnaround times impact advice, explore digital and process innovations that could speed things up, and outline what advisers want to see from providers to deliver a smoother, more transparent customer journey.
Thank you for joining COVER Summit North.
Please note that this programme is subject to change