By Denise Wond, Marketing Relationship Manager, Royal London
Do you consider yourself lucky? I don’t; I never seem to win a prize in the raffle, if there’s a cancelled train it’s usually the one I’m meant to be on and don’t start me on last year’s holiday.
On the other hand, when I think about it, I’m actually really lucky when it comes to the big stuff in life – I just never think about it.
And that’s the problem. Your clients don’t either. If they did, they’d be queuing at your door to make sure they had enough of the right cover.
It’s upsetting that one of the top-five reasons for claims at Royal London is childhood critical illness. Looking at the numbers doesn’t bring the stories behind them to life, though. What are the challenges those families face? Can both parents remain working? Do shift patterns have to change? Do they really want to be at work when they have a seriously ill child at home? I know I wouldn’t. And what about the additional costs they’re likely to face?
It’s hard to imagine how families can cope with all of this at a point when money cannot, and should not, be the main concern. So let’s put some context around this: it’s estimated that, when a child is diagnosed with cancer, parents spend an average of £600 a month in additional expenses during their child's treatment1.
It’s hardly surprising then that this additional cost on top of loss of earnings is forcing parents into debt. CLIC Sargent, a child cancer charity, reports that two in three parents surveyed had experienced a loss of earnings and three in five had had to reduce the number of hours they worked. More than one in four had borrowed over £2,000.2
These figures paint a depressingly vivid picture of the struggles faced by families dealing with a sick child. It would be nice to think that they’d have all the support they needed from the state but, with recent welfare reforms, how likely do you think that is?
And what of the journey to get access to any support? It’s pretty complex, time-consuming and stressful, and ultimately just another thing to worry about. Faced with these facts, how likely are your clients to see the need for cover? Maybe it’s worthwhile taking a fresh look at your client bank.
Using Royal London’s menu product allows you to tailor a plan with multiple covers, terms and amounts depending on what your clients need and can afford. And remember, all our menu plans include Helping Hand, a service that could provide much needed support to the family.
For more information, take a look at our adviser site. There are some case studies that highlight the value of Helping Hand but also the need for protection.
None of these people expected to be in this position. Illness isn’t fair and it’s not picky, either. Those of us who’ve never faced these challenges are just lucky – but will we always be?
Visit this link to find out more.
Sources:
1. Clic Sargent (Cancer Costs, 1 September 2016)
2. Clic Sargent (Counting the costs of cancer, December 2011)
