If you’ve ever come away from a client meeting feeling your protection advice didn’t quite land, you’re not alone.

Just as every recommendation is unique, the conversation that leads to it can’t be one size fits all. Think about a big purchase you’ve made yourself. It’s rarely just the product you remember, but how it was explained, how you were listened to, and how it felt.

Under Consumer Duty, advisers also need to evidence that they’re delivering good outcomes that genuinely fit a client’s life, priorities and vulnerabilities. That’s another strong reason to take a tailored approach.

In our Reaching Resilience research, we explored how needs, worries and perceptions of protection differ between key client groups. It gives you a practical lens for where to focus each conversation, so it feels more relevant, more human and more personal.

Parents of younger children

Let’s start with families where there are younger children at home. We know that parents have no end to their worry and concern when it comes to their family. Our Reaching Resilience research highlights just how significant this is:

• Almost a third feel they wouldn’t cope financially if they were to be diagnosed with a critical illness.
• 80% are worried about the impact of their own and their families’ financial security should they experience a major health problem or injury.

The key to making a conversation feel personal is to talk to that instinct of wanting to make sure their family would be looked after should the worst happen.

How to bring it to life

• Start with the kids, not the cover:
• “If you couldn’t work for six months, what would you want life to look like for your children?”
• Make it real: food shopping, rent or mortgage, childcare, football clubs, school trips. How would this be impacted by a change in income?
• Show that this isn’t about just buying a policy, it’s building their financial resilience to offer stability should these events happen.

You might look at:

• Income protection and framing it as “a family safety net”, to make sure life can continue as normal as possible and to take the strain off any one parent.
• Family income benefit that keeps money coming in each month, so routines can stay as normal as possible.
• Critical illness recommendations that include added peace of mind with children’s cover.

Parents of older children

Then we’ve got parents of teens and young adults. Many are still financially supporting children for longer. Whether that’s through sixth form, university, apprenticeships or that first step onto the property ladder.

Let’s explore what the research shows us about this group:

• 1 in 4 have less than £1,000 in savings.
• 7 in 10 worry about the prospect of their child being diagnosed with a serious illness.

How to frame it

• Talk around specific milestones:
• “If your income took a hit, would your child’s ability to get by at university be impacted?” As an example.
• Look at how the cover adds that additional peace of mind:
• “Let’s look at children’s cover that runs until your youngest is through education or started their career.”

Where protection fits

• Life and Critical Illness that includes options to also protect their children into young adulthood (from birth to 23).
• Income protection that means your client can have peace of mind that the financial impact if they can’t work due to illness or injury will be kept to a minimum.

Self employed clients

Self employed people are normally driven by work. After all, they’re invested in the success of their business. While being self-employed can have its’ benefits, it comes with its own unique risks.

No employer sick pay. Limited state support. If they can’t work, income can drop to zero very quickly. This is explored in our research:

• 1 in 5 self-employed workers would have to continue working through illness or injury to make ends meet.
• 22% would last less than a month without their income.
• Over a quarter have less than £1,000 saved.

How to open up the conversation

• Talk about business and lifestyle, not just “insurance”:
• “If you couldn’t work for a few months, how long could you keep up with the bills at home and the commitments in the business?”

This could look like:

• Income protection as a regular, manageable cost that protects an irregular income.
• Starting with smaller cover levels, and building it as their take-home income grows, rather than an all or nothing approach.

For this client, you’re helping them protect what they’ve built, so a short term illness doesn’t become a long term financial setback.

First time buyers

Buying your first home is not an insignificant financial obligation to say the least. First time buyers have usually stretched themselves financially to get on the ladder.

That’s exactly why they’re so vulnerable to income shocks. Our research told us that:

• 52% of first-time buyer couples need both incomes to cover essential outgoings.
• 2 in 5 spend 20% of their monthly income on debt excluding mortgages.
• Half would only last up to 2 months without their income.

A simple way to reframe things

• Tap into the emotion of their home:
• “You’ve worked hard to get this house and your mortgage – let’s make sure you can keep up with your mortgage payments, even if something unexpected happens.”
• Strip it back to essentials if cost is a concern:
• “Let’s review how we can protect you so you can stay in this home – at the very least, the mortgage and main bills?”

Protection as part of the home buying journey

• Life cover and critical illness that tie directly to the mortgage and household costs.
• Income Protection that protects both earners and means they’re not under any unnecessary financial strain if they lose one income.
• Flexible options that can be reviewed as their career and income changes, and as they potentially look to start a family.