Programme
COVER Magazine is delighted to welcome you back to the COVER Protection and Health Summit.
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 Protection and Health Summit is “Elevating Adviser Insight”.
As our nation ages, the realities of dementia, long-term illness and the strain on existing care systems are becoming impossible to ignore. What was once seen as a future challenge is now very much a present-day concern. Join Rose St Louis, Board member of the Insurance United Against Dementia campaign for her keynote speech that aims to shine a light on the state of the nation, the growing impact of dementia, and why long-term care must become central to the way we think about health and protection. Crucially, it will explore how insurers and advisers can come together to create powerful ecosystems of expertise — ensuring clients and their families receive the very best all-round support, today and for the years ahead.
Session details coming soon...
Join Phil as he reveals the everyday risks we face and shines a light on important areas of protection that are being overlooked with traditional insurance products. He will share how MetLife innovative products serve to meet this need and how they fit into the protection puzzle.
Time to grab a coffee and meet our exhibitors.
In this session, Arun Thiyagarajan, CEO of VitalityHealth, explores the transformation of private medical insurance in response to a rapidly shifting healthcare landscape and the implications for advisers and our industry more broadly. With rising consumer expectations, mounting pressures on public health services, and a growing emphasis on prevention and digital care pathways, PMI is no longer just about covering illness—it’s about enabling better health outcomes.
The FCA’s Financial Lives 2024 survey highlighted 49% of UK adults showed characteristics of financial vulnerability, reaffirming the growing concern that protection isn’t cutting through as it needs to be. This session will explore how the industry can better position protection as a vital tool for building financial resilience and navigating life’s inevitable challenges.
Evolving customer expectations, a complex housing market, and ongoing economic uncertainty are reshaping the protection and health industry. Advisers and providers alike face growing pressure to adapt with speed and confidence. This session examines whether the industry is truly equipped to keep pace with change.
Time for lunch - grab a bite to eat in the exhibition hall and grow your network!
Product Updates
Cancer remains the leading driver of health and protection claims, yet the UK is still missing its target to diagnose 75% of cancers early. Screening participation is falling, health literacy among younger generations is in decline, and misinformation is compounding the problem. At the same time, cancer incidence in under-50s is rising sharply.
In this session, Kelly McCabe, Co-Founder & CEO, Perci Health will explore:
- Why the UK is struggling to meet early detection goals.
- What the last NHS Long-Term Plan achieved - and what’s changing in the next.
- The impact of declining health literacy and digital misinformation on participation and outcomes.
- Practical strategies for employers, insurers, and brokers to improve health literacy, screening uptake, and navigation of NHS and private pathways.
With real-world data and forward-looking insights, this session will make the case that improving knowledge, confidence and access is the foundation on which all early detection strategies must be built—helping insurers manage claims costs, employers protect workforce wellbeing, and individuals secure better outcomes.
The Autumn Budget has brought inheritance tax (IHT) and its implications for financial planning into the spotlight.
This session will:
- Explore the skills advisers need to effectively use life products for IHT mitigation.
- Discuss whether joint life second death may be a more viable option than single life in this scenario.
- Project how the industry will respond.
This session explores developed EAP propositions designed to provide long-term mental health support, reducing reliance on PMI schemes and offering a more sustainable solution for employers and employees alike.
This session will look at the various ways customers might think about protecting their income, which might not be Income Protection. Although ASU doesn't have the best track record within the industry, it is becoming a viable option for many.
Core Skills
With a need to create positive client outcomes, protection can play a vital role in safeguarding and securing your clients against future life and health uncertainties. Over last few years it has become increasingly important for advisers to understand their clients and demonstrate the value of protection. In this session our expert speaker will explore the latest insights from LV’s Reaching Resilience research which will help you position protection and enable you to have more effective protection conversations.
If the goal of Consumer Duty is to deliver good customer outcomes and prevent foreseeable harm, do we need to rethink traditional mortgage protection advice. In this session, Vitality’s Andy Philo will consider why our industry must prioritise a more holistic approach to mortgage protection – to safeguard a client’s home and the people in it, not just the lender’s interests.
Join our Deputy Editor, Jaskeet Briah, alongside a panel of industry experts as they unpack exclusive findings from our latest COVER audience survey. This session explores how the industry is defining, recognising and responding to customer vulnerability, and what that means for your business.
This session provides practical guidance for advisers aiming to improve their sales. Learn how to engage clients in meaningful conversations, overcome objections with confidence, and use social media to build trust and drive inquiries.
Time to grab a coffee and meet our exhibitors.
Thank you for joining COVER Protection and Health Summit.
Please note that this programme is subject to change