The short answer to ‘who needs life insurance’ is: anyone with financial dependents. This means anyone who has other people relying on them financially – like a partner or children – who’d be financially affected if you died. So life insurance relevant for millions.
Most modern households base their outgoings on what they know is coming in each month, so if one income is suddenly missing, it can have serious consequences on the people left behind. Life insurance gives people peace of mind that their loved ones will be financially secure if the worst happens in their household.
It’s important for anyone with dependents – not just people with a mortgage, which is a common misconception. This includes couples, renters, the self-employed, and even currently single households expecting life changes. Plus, the sooner life insurance is bought, the cheaper it is.
Why offer life insurance?
Lots of people need life insurance – and millions of them don’t have it. There’s around 16 million unprotected families in the UK, and around 50% of UK mortgages are unprotected. Digital financial services are in a unique position to close this gap and benefit from improving the financial wellbeing of their users.
Plus, teaming up with an online broker like Anorak – another data-driven business – to offer a product like life insurance is an ongoing opportunity to learn more about your customer behaviours.
Let’s look at some examples:
Financial advice/money management app
Businesses offering smart money management guidance already have a financially-aware audience, with a preference for managing their finances online. Users probably know how important life insurance is, but still have it sitting on their to-do lists – putting it off because they think it’s complicated and don’t know where to start.
But it’s an important topic to raise, because everyone should have a plan in place in case the worst happens. A money management app is an ideal environment to do this in: a place people know, trust, and are comfortable using. Connecting them to an online broker ensures continuity of digital experience – seamlessly complementing your offering in a way a traditional life insurance broker can’t.
Plus, it helps shift user mindsets away from being purely about ‘savings and discounts’ to being about overall financial wellbeing. All of which makes them more likely to engage and take responsibility for their future finances.
Investment platforms
Having the right protection in place is an important way to manage risks – so for an investment platform to serve customers holistically, the conversation you have with them has to be about both investment and protection.
But actually offering them protection is another matter. This is a heavily regulated and highly specialised field, and offering it yourself would be costly and divert you from your own specialism (namely: investments). Partnering with an online broker like Anorak – a regulated service, highly rated by customers – is an opportunity to fully service your customers’ financial needs while sticking to what you’re good at.
And the better protected your customers are, the more durable their investment plans become. Having the right cover in place minimises the impact that life events like death and illness can have on their investments.
Banks and digital banks
Banks are the most widely-known provider of financial services, and the logical first step for most people when researching how best to manage their finances. Having protection in place in case of life events like death or illness is an important tool in achieving financial security. It helps people manage their risks in a way they simply can’t with just savings.
But of course, selling protection is heavily regulated and brings with it its own risks. Partnering with an online broker like Anorak, which exists to make it easy for people to protect themselves financially, is a way to negate the risks of selling it yourself. It means you can provide customers with an important financial product, securely and at scale, in the way they expect (digitally).
Making life insurance more visible and accessible to customers significantly increases their financial awareness. It means contributing to their financial wellbeing and having customers who are more financially stable – with life’s unexpected events unlikely to disrupt their finances.
Other online communities
Life insurance can be a long-term player on any online platform, balancing out the rolling savings and discounts offers. You can engage users with rapid rewards and empower them to be more financially responsible in the same place. And whatever audience an online community is aimed at, life insurance is likely to be relevant – because all sorts of people need it. That includes parents, homeowners, renters, couples, self-employed people, and more.
Got questions about selling life insurance or partnering with Anorak?
Be transparent to build trust
Data-rich digital banks and financial services are in a unique position to highlight, not shy away from, a person’s financial risks and vulnerabilities. To raise the topic in a smart, engaging way, and connect people with relevant, convenient solutions. Being upfront about someone’s liabilities doesn’t have to harm your brand; delivering this information in the right way, with transparency and empathy, can actually build trust.
And the time is right to do this. The Covid-19 pandemic has not only accelerated the use of these kinds of digital service, but also made people face up to their own financial security (or lack of it). And while it’s true that the number of people looking into their protection options is up, many people are still getting stuck before getting protected. Often, they’re in need of guidance and simply aren’t sure where to get it. So it stays on the to-do list.
Offer free, independent advice
Teaming up with an online broker for life insurance is an opportunity to offer free, independent advice to customers. It makes this kind of advice accessible in a way it hasn’t been before, to a new and wider audience.
Often, people know they need life insurance, but also need help getting it right. They don’t necessarily seek out advice because they assume it’ll be biased or expensive, or it’s just not something that applies to them.
That’s why giving people easy access to independent, expert advice is such a game-changer. People appreciate someone else doing the legwork for them and helping them make truly informed decisions – especially if the process is simple, convenient, and free. And if the outcome is ticking off that nagging bit of life admin and achieving financial peace of mind.
