Nina Brown, Protection Specialist Adviser
The main reason I enjoy being a protection specialist, is the fact not one day is the same. No two sets of clients will ever be identical, everyone’s circumstances and situations differ, which results in my advice being tailored to each. It’s important that I understand and get to know my clients and learn about their health details, medical details, family history, their children and their future plans.
Working within insurances is a really varied role. Clients tend to want to know information such as if their mortgage will be paid off if they pass away or if they’ll be covered in scenarios such as being diagnosed with cancer.
I help my clients to protect what is important to them and also better help them understand areas that they perhaps hadn’t considered to be a scenario that they needed protection for, which could be anything covering life insurances, family income benefits or critical illness covers, to name just a few.
My day will start every morning with going over emails from the night before and making sure I have a clear structure to my day. However, I believe with this job and the reason I wanted to start this career is the fact I have the flexibility to create my own timetable.
My day is not a standard 9 till 5 job! I am self-employed within my family firm and my day is 24/7 and most of my clients would prefer to discuss their options within the evenings. Therefore I will typically work a few evenings a week for either client appointments or zoom calls, to give them the flexibility they need. This is not the sort of job I would recommend if you would prefer something with set hours.
I usually have two or three client appointments each day. These tend to last around 30 – 60 minutes per appointment and they are a mixture of face to face, zoom or phone calls. My preferred option is definitely face to face appointments, as I believe it is much easier to get get to know the client and help them to understand the importance of insurance and find a solution that suits them.
If this is the first appointment with a client, I always view this time as just a conversation with very little industry jargon. The last thing I want to do is over complicate matter and put them off. As a protection specialist, we must have excellent communication skills to have difficult conversations about very personal scenarios.
As I work within a network, I need to follow a structure to process an application. When a client goes ahead from the initial appointment, it is important to complete the whole process on our system before the next client appointment to ensure data is accurate and up to date. During the appointment, we will run through a fact find and I will gain all the details needed to supply the clients with a personalised recommendation.
Once the recommendation has been agreed with the client, a medical questionnaire is completed and I’ll then have an idea if they have any conditions that will impact the application. Sometimes the decision on the application is given immediately but in some cases, other information may be required. A suitability letter will be provided to the client as an overview of the advice they have received.
At the end of my working day, I always have a little ’round-up’ where I go over everything I have done and make sure that I am up to date with anything client related or admin. I like to go into my next day, ensuring I am well prepared, so this process helps me do that.
I believe the best experience you can have, is by working within a firm and observing the day-to-day life of an adviser. You can also gain knowledge through training materials, workshops and speaking with your the different insurance providers. Insurances are constantly changing and therefore you need to stay up to date in your knowledge with the various policies and providers.
I honestly could not see myself doing anything else. If you are passionate about changing people’s lives by protecting what is important to them, there isn’t a better industry to work in.
Something I really enjoy is attending industry related events. It’s not all about sitting at your desk all day, we have so many amazing things happening which allows a range of different people coming together to share ideas and help you grow. We have an industry that is full of fantastic people, who are all willing to support and guide you in the right direction.
If you are thinking about starting a career with protection, do it, it’s a great career choice. Remember – you are not a typical salesperson, in this role you are able to change the lives of people financially, at a time when they need it most.
You can learn more about Nina and her role as a paraplanner role by watching the video below.
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Read another insightful article on ‘A Day in the Life of a Protection Business Development Manager’ to find out more about information about the Protection Specialist role.