A protection specialist has a customer-centred role, dealing with people to support them with their financial protection needs such an income protection, life insurance, and critical illness cover.
Protection advisers have excellent people skills, being able to talk to customers about their circumstances and options. Knowledge of the market is key in order to be able to offer advice and recommendations for a variety of protection products. This is a role where an understanding of regulation and ethics is especially important to ensure customers have the protection cover that is right for them.
There is no minimum qualification requirement for protection specialist roles, so job vacancies vary in terms of what they ask for. A recognised qualification will however improve your credibility and value as an adviser.
Protection specialists in the role will often have achieved or be working towards a level 3 or level 4 qualification. The main examining bodies offering qualifications are:
The LIBF offers a level 3 Certificate in Protection (CertPRO) which is an entry-level qualification.
The CII offer a range of level 3 and level 4 units which can be taken stand-alone to develop your technical knowledge of areas such as the R01 Financial services, regulation and ethics, and the R05 Financial protection.
Before choosing which examining body route to take, do some research into the methods of assessment. Some examinations are multiple choice, others are written answers. Some qualifications are assessed using just exams, some use a mixture of coursework and examination, others are heavily coursework based.
At BTS, we support the CII exams so the information in this profile focuses on the CII exams.
The CII Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning is an RQF level 4 diploma made up of six core modules, commonly referred to as the R0 exams. The units can be taken as stand-alone qualifications to support your role, or you can complete all six to achieve the full level 4 Diploma. An RQF level 4 diploma is an FCA requirement for Financial Advisers wishing to provide regulated financial advice. There are six compulsory R0 exam units to achieve the full Diploma. There is no set order in which to take the units, you can sit them in any order you choose.
For candidates new to the industry, we usually recommend starting with R01 Financial services, regulation and ethics as this provides a sound knowledge base which is relevant to each of the other units. Then, we recommend taking R05 Financial protection as this is a level 3 unit with no multi-response questions. For protection specialists, having R01 and R05 is a good grounding to support the role.
If you want to achieve the full Diploma, you would then progress through the remaining units. It is advisable to take R03 Personal taxation and R02 Investment principles and risk fairly closely together as there is significant syllabus cross-over between these two units. R04 should usually be attempted as the penultimate unit due to the knowledge required from the other units. The R06 Financial planning practice unit is usually sat as the final exam as it draws on knowledge and understanding from each of the other R0s.
To find out more about the examinations that make up the CII qualifications, take a look at the CII Qualifications Framework.
Being a protection specialist is a career in its own right with opportunities to manage teams. Protection specialists sometimes move into mortgage advice by taking qualifications recognised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Protection specialists can also pursue specialist qualifications to develop their expertise within the field of financial planning using the main examining bodies as listed above. This could lead to development into the following roles:
Protection advisers may work in specialist financial services firms. There are also roles within estate agents and mortgage brokers.
Apprenticeships are available in paraplanning. Find out more by visiting the CII Aspire Apprenticeships pages and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.
