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 "Navigating historic change".
An in-depth look at the FCA’s ongoing market study. Experts will discuss current insights, regulatory concerns, and anticipated future changes. The session will explore how these findings could affect both protection advisers and insurance providers in the North.
Key focus points will include:
- Loaded premiums.
- Over 50s life cover.
- Competition in the insurer market.
Session overview:
- The impact of cancer on the working-age population
- What the data tells us about prevention and treatment
- Evolving beyond traditional thinking about support
- A roadmap for change
Putting a spotlight on business protection, this session will simplify Relevant Life and Executive Income Protection (IP) and provide insight on how to seamlessly apply these products to sole traders and limited company directors. Often seen as complicated, we’ll break down how they work just like standard life insurance and IP policies. By removing the stigma around these products and demonstrating how to advise and apply, this session will provide the tools to support advisers in confidently integrating them into their protection offerings.
Time to grab a coffee and meet our exhibitors.
Three startups, five minutes each! Join us for a rapid-fire showcase of cutting-edge startups.
When an adviser comes across a client who has serious mental health conditions, it is important they understand how to support them and ask the right questions, showing empathy whilst also maintaining trust and professionalism. Even when the conversation is centred around breaking bad news to a client, such as claim denial, postponements or exclusions, it is crucial an adviser factors in their clients’ needs and treats the conversation with care.
This session will:
- Explore how to approach sensitive conversations with care.
- Discuss how to ask the right questions to clients with mental health.
- Identify techniques to deliver difficult messages.
Join Meg Kirby MBE as she highlights real-life examples of the challenges faced by vulnerable clients and details how thoughtful, holistic advice can help better support them during the claims process. Our editor will join Meg on stage to explore actionable strategies that advisers can implement to look beyond the tick box regulatory frameworks and enhance client trust and foster long term relationships.
Time for lunch - grab a bite to eat in the exhibition hall and grow your network!
While early intervention is commonly offered by group IP providers and deemed essential for managing absence and supporting return-to-work outcomes, its availability in individual IP products can vary widely. Individual IP is often accompanied by optional wellbeing 'add-ons' like access to employee assistance programs or virtual GP services, but these don’t always include early intervention support. So, how do we ensure that these key services are seen as integral to protection across both individual and group IP?
There is an industry debate on whether a lack of qualifications undermines the credibility of protection advice and the need for higher professional standards in the industry.
This session will examine the potential impact of mandatory qualifications, exploring the benefits for advisers and clients, as well as the financial and logistical challenges smaller firms may encounter in implementing them.
With the FCA’s market study into Pure Protection highlighting loaded premiums as an example of a commission arrangement that could be contrary to providing customer value, this session delves into the ethical considerations and transparency issues surrounding these practices. As the industry landscape evolves, loaded premiums continue to spark discussions on how fair the practice is and the impact it has on the relationship between advisers and providers.
This session will:
- Examine the implications of loaded premiums on adviser-consumer relationships.
- Gain insights of the key issues raised by the FCA’s market study.
- Explore strategies for promoting greater transparency and fairness.
Thank you for joining COVER Summit North.
Please note that this programme is subject to change