Programme
COVER Magazine is delighted to welcome you to its first 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 to "Inspire, Connect, Grow".
The rapid pace of consolidation in the protection industry, including last year’s exit of two major players, has led to uncertainty for intermediaries, as they try to assess what these changes might mean for them and their clients. For some advisers, there may be a sense of disconnect, especially if they had built strong relationships with an insurer that has now left the market.
What does consolidation mean for customer choice and future product development? What key questions should advisers be communicating to their new insurer and how can they get their voices heard? Could new players enter the sector from non-traditional sources and would this be welcome? How could the protection sector change in the years ahead?
With the wording, processes and costs involved in protection ever-evolving, many products can seem to be overly-complex, thus making it difficult for advisers and consumers alike to select the best options. Tech providers, like UnderwriteMe, are working with industry partners to showcase how technology is simplifying this journey, what the future of insurance tech looks like and how advisers can benefit.
This session will cover:
- What tech options are in the market
- How processes can be simplified using technology
- How advisers can benefit from early adoption
Time to grab a coffee and meet our exhibitors.
As the cost-of-living crisis and NHS pressures continue to take their toll on consumers, the protection and healthcare industry has an important role to play during challenging times. In this environment, advisers have an opportunity to promote the benefits of value-added services and educate clients on how they can act as a bridge until they can be connected to other healthcare and support services.
What value-added benefits are in the greatest demand? Which services are being utilised by who and show the greatest benefits to clients? How can the industry address issues of transparency and eligibility? How could value-added services develop in the future?
This session will:
- Uncover innovative strategies that insurers are employing to bridge the gap between supply and demand
- Examine which services are gaining traction among diverse demographic groups
- Provide practical recommendations to equip advisers with the tools to guide their clients toward the optimal pathways for accessing healthcare services
- Explore how value-added services can help promote the benefits of protection
There is enormous need for innovation in insurance. There has never been a better time for advisers to really understand the needs of their customers and build a protection portfolio.
This session will:
- Discuss the interplay between the cost of living crisis, consumer duty and complexity in insurance
- Share details of our unique, industry-first protection policy designed for parents – creating new access for clients
- Challenge the perception of protection and how advisers play a crucial role in completing the protection puzzle
As the needs and personal circumstances of customers are ever-changing, regular reviews have a vital role to play in the ongoing relationship between the adviser and their client. The rules of Consumer Duty highlight the requirement for firms to put their customers’ needs first, so how can reviews be used to add value to their protection journeys?
From aligning budgets, identifying coverage gaps and optimising your clients’ policies, reviews give advisers an opportunity to ensure customers are not under or over insured, leaving them exposed to financial risks.
This session will:
- Discuss best practice in aligning client reviews with Consumer Duty requirements
- Suggest key questions advisers should be asking clients in the review process
- Highlight how advisers can respond to clients’ changing circumstances
- Explore how reviews can help strengthen the adviser/client relationship
Time for lunch - grab a bite to eat in the exhibition hall and grow your network!
Ensuring a life cover payout goes to the intended recipient is one of the life insurance industry’s most pressing issues under consumer duty. How beneficiary nomination can help with this is something that advisers will need to understand in 2024. During this panel discussion we’ll explore the topic in detail, discussing how beneficiary nomination works and how this practice can provide advisers with a simple and credible default option that gives better outcomes for clients.
This session will cover:
- Consumer duty foreseeable claim payment outcomes – misdirection and delays
- Contractual beneficiary nomination – what it is and how can it help
- How this compares and can work instead of or in combination with trusts
Colin Fitzgerald, new chair of Group Risk Development (GRiD) considers how advisers can inspire and connect with their clients and grow their own proposition through group risk benefits.
This session will:
- Provide an overview of group risk products and the market
- Dispel some common employer misconceptions
- Help advisers to position a group risk sale with their executive clients
This session will focus on sharing best practice from across the sector to help firms support employees, champion DEI and measure progress.
Whether you have been in the industry for five months or 25 years, the learning never stops as advisers have to respond to regulatory upheaval, changing customer needs, product development and new technologies.
This session will dive further into professional development and training that is offered to help advisers stay ahead of the curve. We will look at gaps advisers need to fill, as well as how to develop a professional development plan.
It will also highlight how advisers can get the most out of tools provided by insurers, as well as benefit from peer and cross-industry support to improve their knowledge and skills.
This session will:
- Provide insight into the educational resources available to help advisers keep up to date with the latest developments
- Advise on how to build a professional plan and areas to consider
- Focus on how advisers can build their technical knowledge, as well as develop their softer skills
Thank you for joining COVER Summit North.
Please note that this programme is subject to change