Turn Mortgage Talks into insurance wins: Build Trust with Tailored Home Insurance

[00:00:09] Fergal McAlinden: Hello again and thanks for joining us on another edition of MI Talk with me, Fergal McAlinden. Today we're going to be talking about general insurance, one of the most important but often most neglected parts of the mortgage process and home ownership. So today we're joined by Scott Mcloughlin and Sam Mears from LV General Insurance to tell us a little bit more about why it's so important for mortgage advisors to offer home insurance to their clients and some of the main benefits that it can bring. So Scott and Sam, first of all, thanks to you both for joining us today. How are things with you?

[00:00:36] Scott Mcloughlin: Very good, Fergal. Thanks for having us. Really excited to be doing the session today and talking all things home insurance. As you said, quite often overlooked, but hopefully we've got some time today to put some myths to bed and gain everybody a little bit more knowledge on the product.

[00:00:53] Sam Mears: Likewise, to echo what Scott said, really looking forward to today, Fergal. Thank you very much for having us both on.

[00:00:59] Fergal McAlinden: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I'm really looking forward to the conversation. And maybe we'll start on that point that you mentioned. I guess, first off, how can including general insurance in mortgage talk make the conversation more valuable for advisors and also for their clients?

[00:01:12] Scott Mcloughlin: I think when we all think about home insurance, we jump to the worst case scenarios, don't we? It's, you know, my house burns down or it floods. That's what we think about with home insurance. And yes, those things absolutely do happen, but they don't happen as often as you think they would. The other stuff that happens a lot. And I think that's what advisors can help. They can bring the product to life. So when you're sat there with a client in front of you and you are talking about the home insurance product, explaining the little ifs, buts, and maybes about it often bring it to life more for the customer. So you say, well, yes, we cover you if your house was to catch fire and burn down, but did you know that the product would cover you in the event of spilt wine on a carpet. It might cover you if you knock over the TV or it might cover you if you put your foot through the floor if you're doing a bit of redecorating. And I think that's what advisors can really, really do is bring it to life. It's a hard product to sell. And I've worked in the industry now for a number of years to understand and accept it is. But explaining it can be there when you need it most and put you back in the position in should that event have never happened is worth its weight in gold. Half the time People sit there with barely enough money to cover the bills for a couple of months if the worst was to happen. Well, imagine if an event happened at your home and you have to fix that with the savings you've got. Rarely happens. Could people just go and replace a TV worth hundreds of pounds or recarpet your house for hundreds or thousands of pounds on a whim? Probably not. And I think that's what advisors can really help is bring that to life and say it is there when you need it most. And let's talk about how this product could meet your needs to stop those events from happening.

[00:03:00] Sam Mears: I was just going to chip in and say, completely agree with everything Scott said there. And I think it's really valuable for advisors. It shows a holistic approach to the whole process and helps build trust and creates longer term relationships rather than just a one-off transaction with that client.

[00:03:17] Fergal McAlinden: Is there any reason that you guys think that maybe advisors might miss discussing general insurance with clients? I mean, what are the main reasons for that and why do you think it's such a big mistake?

[00:03:27] Sam Mears: Yeah, so general insurance sometimes gets pushed aside because advisors think it either takes too long or that clients will just go online and sort out themselves through the comparison websites as we've mentioned but ignoring it is a really big mistake because it leaves clients exposed, leaves renewable revenue on the table and puts the business at detriment due to consumer duty putting pressure on advisors to show that they have at least considered the client's protection needs. So a quick conversation about general insurance, only five questions to answer, as we've mentioned on our smart quote system. And it is really that simple to get the client a quote. Advisors often worry, what if I answer any of them questions wrong? So questions on the comparison websites, like what percentage of the roof is flat, or what's the year of build on the policy and will put advisors and clients off doing them quotes themselves. They know if they get them questions wrong, their claim could be impacted. However, that's where we are different on our smart quote system. We don't ask them questions, so that minimalizes any risk of non-disclosure. So talking general insurance isn't just good service. It can become good business, keep your clients loyal and protect reputation.

[00:04:39] Fergal McAlinden: It's interesting that you mentioned, Sam, the regulatory approach and some of the scrutiny that advisors are under there. It sounds like offering home insurance is actually an important part of an advisor's duty of care, as you mentioned.

[00:04:51] Scott Mcloughin: I think as you mentioned with the whole, you know, the duty of care piece there, when you think of an advisor, they're playing integral party, you know, they're not just finding a mortgage now to help somebody buy the house. The job of those advisors now is to, one, is to maximise the income that the customer might be using here to, one, get the mortgage, and then, two, stay in a position where they can pay their bills through an income protection policy. If the worst was to happen, have they got critical illness cover? All those are the products around the outside of it. And that's what the advisor is there to do, is to make sure all of those eventualities, you know, if they are happening in their life, they can be met. but also The biggest financial outlay they have is the purchase of the house itself. So helping them ensure they have a home insurance product that could rebuild it or fix something that goes wrong with it is just as important as all the other products that you have there to sell with them. So the duty care piece with the advisors is incredibly, incredibly important.

[00:05:51] Fergal McAlinden: Yeah, I mean, it's so important. And also one thing that comes to mind is also that there are just a million different steps that advisors and their clients are going through whenever. They're talking about a mortgage. They're going through the mortgage process, making sure that documentation is in order, all of that kind of thing. So that kind of brings to mind the question then about when is actually the best time for advisors to bring up general insurance during that mortgage process. Any thoughts or advice there?

[00:06:13] Sam Mears: Yeah, I think me and Scott mutually agree that the best time is probably Tuesday afternoon. So what we like to say is advisors don't have to do the full insurance pitch on day one. however it should be put on the table as soon as you are discussing the property budget's affordability naturally insurance will fit into that conversation the advisor can then look to revisit the conversation once the mortgage offer is in that's the beauty of the lv general insurance offering the quotes are all valid for 180 days so what that means is it makes it even easier to introduce that early and then tailor the cover properly down the line you also know that even if you're quoting early for that client. You don't have to worry about having another conversation awkward in about 30 to 60 days time. You can just introduce that early and know that it's still going to be valid. The real trick is to treat the insurance as part of the process and not as an optional extra at the end. If the advisors raise it early, it will help educate the clients on the offering and then they can plan for it as part of the overall cost of owning a home. It will also then avoid any last minute scramble on completion day, which again can leave the clients underinsured just to, you know. them going online and just picking up any any products online.

[00:07:27] Scott Mcloughlin: i think also introducing it early avoids the instances that we often hear is it's a bit of a shock so you know obviously a lot of these mortgage journeys that you know they're not resolved within days they take months to go through that whole process and all through this time the home buyer is constantly budgeting well you know i've got this bill to pay now for this solicitor's fee or this fee for the advisor but This is what my bills now look like once I get my house. And what often happens is they're then hit at the very last moment when they need a mortgage, they need the home insurance in place, sorry, to get the mortgage. You do need to pay £30, £40 a month for your home insurance. And they're like, well, hang on a minute. I didn't budget for that. So I don't want it. So I am going to go on a comparison site now because I need to find the cheapest product I can out there to tick that box to say I've got it. And that's because it was a shock factor to them. So they weren't prepared for it. So I think as Sam pointed out there, on the basis of our system is able to work using such limited information, but still provide you that quote. Often given that quote at the earliest opportunity you can, just raises awareness that we're going to talk about this at some point in the mortgage journey. It's not today, but I'm letting you know, quote's done, sits there in your file. But we're going to come back to that when we're a little bit closer to that completion stage, when we need to activate it, tailor it to your needs a little bit more. So, I would use that as a bit of an advantage as well, is make people aware from the outset, you're going to talk about this at some point, but not today. And then when you do, that shock factor has disappeared. So that usually helps as well when it comes to converting quotes into sales as well.

[00:09:04] Fergal McAlinden: For sure. So it's not just coming as a bolt out of the blue at the very end when they Thanks, everybody. Right. Yeah. Okay, cool. You know, it's interesting as well. We talk about the mortgage process and the home buying process and all these different conversations that advisors are having with their clients. And we know how important relationship building is during that process, establishing a rapport with a client, you know, having them come back for business in the future. How do you think that offering and selling general insurance actually helps advisors to build that and strengthen that relationship with their clients?

[00:09:34] Scott Mcloughlin: I think it's an incredible tool to use, Fergal. If we look at a typical mortgage journey, so I found the house of the dreams that I want, and I've now found an advisor that's been recommended by this day's agent, that's all going great. And because of the climate at the moment, people might be tempted to secure their future a little bit more and say, well, I want a five or a 10-year fixed rate, so I know what's coming in and out of my bank a little bit better. And let's say you put somebody into that 10-year fixed rate, off you go, I'll see you in nine and a half years' time when your term's coming to an and we'll have another conversation. It's great in principle, but how many people do you think who their advisor was from nine and a half years ago? I personally couldn't tell you who mine was because it just doesn't happen like that. Ultimately, my lender at the time was actually a building society that I now am a customer of. So they're the ones that are going to try and contact me, aren't they, to say, your mortgage terms come into an end. We've got a good deal here. Completely forgetting the advisor I spoke to many years ago, which to the annoyance of that advisor is going to mean missed income, isn't it? And that's where I think the home insurance will help. So home insurance being a general insurance product, it renews every 12 months. So every 12 months, there's going to be a reason that that customer is aware that that product is in place. They're going to get their renewal notices, aren't they? That the premium will be on there and the changes to the cover. That's a really good opportunity for the advisor and the customer to touch base after year one, year two, year three, year four. Product's great. Premium looks good. I can't beat it for the cover that you need or I can beat it. you know, that part of it. It's where you need it to be.

[00:11:06] Scott Mcloughlin: I am now going to speak to you every single year to the point that you get that notice from your lender to say your term's coming to an end. That there is a much easier conversation for you to pick up the phone going, yeah, brilliant. Thanks for the call. Also notice that my term's coming to an end. Can we chat about a remortgage deal now? And then you've got yourself some custom back, haven't you? You could also run the two situations there in parallel. You have one universe where you don't sell any home insurance, but you put them into that 10-year fixed rate. You have no contact with them for 10 years. In that 10 years, though, I was a single home buyer. When I bought the house, I then got married. I then had children. I then had a dog. I then got a new job. All of these lifestyle changes happen. And not at any point did I speak to you as my advisor about any of those. If I had spoken to you about them, That could have been an increase to my critical illness policy that maybe needs to include children's kick cover on there. I might have had to add things onto my home insurance product because now I'm married. Do I need to include things like my wedding ring or engagement rings? I've now got a pet. Do I need some pet insurance? It's all opportunities, isn't it? There's only such a pool of people buying properties at the moment, but it's about maximising what you can get out of each one of those in terms of all the products or services around the outside of it, isn't it? So I do you generally believe that home insurance is a fantastic way to keep in contact with your customers for as long as you want them to be your customers.

[00:12:35] Fergal McAlinden: Great stuff. But look, let me ask about LV specifically. I know that we have a lot of advisors who are listening today and will have been hearing all of your great points. And they'll be wondering what LV is doing to support advisors in selling general insurance. Maybe give us a bit of a background on that.

[00:12:50] Sam Mears: Yeah, of course. So I would say LV General Insurance offers advisors a complete toolkit. to be able to integrate home insurance into mortgage advice really easily. So as mentioned quite a lot throughout this conversation, we have our smart quote system. So that lets advisors generate quotes within minutes. So we also back that up by hosting advisor-only learning webinars. They're hosted weekly. We cover anything on there from compliance, handling objections, sales psychology. We also have a lot of comparison tools and sales aids and a lot more that are available on our advisor website. We also have dedicated support teams. So we've got a partnership sales support team. We've got chat box featured and my team of regional account managers. We also have a team of national strategic account managers. So just mean advisors are never alone in that process. there's lots of different support points that they can call upon should they need it. All of that, we like to say, frees up advisors to be able to focus on their clients and their clients' needs and not the admin side of general insurance. So it helps build any trust, deliver value and meet consumer duty expectations.

[00:13:58] Scott Mcloughlin: The tools we support are second to none. But I think one thing that we like to be quite proud that we do is listen to advisors and networks and principals or whoever that may be. And, you know, the old adage is still very true, isn't it? Like, what is your challenge at the moment? It's like, I can't sell home insurance. Okay, well, is it a can't or a won't? Let's unpick that a little bit. And ultimately, what are you looking to achieve? And let's work backwards because we like to think with... the solutions that we have. If you're somebody that says, well, I don't have time, well, we reintroduced smart quotes that makes time not a challenge anymore because the system is incredibly quick. Well, if it's like, well, I don't earn enough money, well, then we can explain the valuable income streams. Not only the product gives you, but as I mentioned in the earlier question, that the other products and opportunities it might give you later down the line in terms of that customer journey. So time and income are not there. If you come to a won't, Then we go down the, what about the duty of care that you have for your client to be thought about that? General insurance is forever being a topic that the FCA are looking at and reviewing all the time as they are with all the products and insurances in the UK at the moment. So it's just about being on the front foot with it. And we like to feel that we are, I definitely would like to be a thought leader and the mouthpiece of home insurance in this space going forward. I think we just have to address that the best way that we can.

[00:15:26] Fergal McAlinden: Well, speaking of being on the front foot, it's hard to believe that we are already into the second half of 2025. So one thing that I'm asking everyone that I talk to is about the trends that they're looking forward to in 2026 and beyond, things they see coming down the line and all of that. So I'm wondering when it comes to general insurance, what you think the future holds and where it should be in the market by next year and beyond.

[00:15:46] Scott Mcloughlin: I think if you speak to many network partners and DA clubs, they will all give you the same answer. of when you're looking at a conversion rate from mortgages to GI, most of them sit in that single-figure conversion rate, which is shocking to say the least, considering especially the buildings element of a home insurance product. It's mandatory with a mortgage. So without it, you aren't getting your mortgage. But yet many people are happy for them to disappear onto a comparison website to go in and do that. Would you let clients drop onto a comparison website for a life insurance policy or an income protection policy? Absolutely not. I'd Home insurance should not be seen any different from that. So, look, we've had a really good last couple of years and we have been growing, which we will continue to grow well past 2026. A lot of that is driven through, as we said, the support that Sam articulated there, the teams that he's got and the support they can give him, training and upskilling, which is one part of it. Our smart quote system is the technology side of it.

[00:16:48] Scott Mcloughlin: But I think the other bit to it as well is the technology, the back end of it. So, you know, when you look at claims processing, how can technology help make that process more seamless and better? Because home insurance is a funny one, isn't it? The reputation of it gets often spread by word of mouth, doesn't it? Somebody has one bad experience and it spreads like wildfire at the minute and everybody's like, oh, home insurance doesn't pay out. Because that couldn't be further from the truth. You know, we publish our own stats, as do many other insurers on the claims acceptance rates that we have in these channels. And they are incredibly high there. so you I think it's dispelling that myth on home insurance is incredibly important. We support where we can. It will be growing through our own training needs, our technology advancements. And as I said, I will continue to be as much as I'm allowed to, the spokesperson. I will bang the drum as much as I can in this industry to become the go-to people and the go-to person when it comes to home insurance and get that single figure conversion rate well into double digits and becoming a first product advice speak about not a side of the desk one i might speak about.

 [00:17:52] Fergal McAlinden: great stuff Sam any thoughts?

[00:17:54] Sam Mears: yeah i completely echo what scott said i think and i hope you know come 2026 and beyond general insurance should be a fully embedded into the mortgage process and that as scott's mentioned it's only going to come from you know us beating the drum and educating advisors on the importance of general insurance and obviously any support that we can offer.

[00:18:16] Fergal McAlinden: Okay, well, great stuff. Look, I think that's a great place to leave things off today. So Scott and Sam, thanks to you both for joining us. I really enjoyed the chat. I'm sure there was plenty of useful information in there for brokers and for their clients about the really important role that insurance plays in the mortgage process. So thanks to you both for joining us. And yeah, much appreciated.

[00:18:34] Scott Mcloughlin: Thanks, Fergal.

[00:18:35] Sam Mears: Yeah, thank you very much for your time, Fergal. Thanks for having us.

[00:18:38] Fergal McAlinden: All right, well, that is just about all we have time for on today's show. My thanks once again to Scott Mcloughlin and Sam Mears from LV General Insurance for joining us today. Thanks to you for listening, and we'll see you next time.

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