Real-life claims make general insurance essential
This article was created in partnership with LV= General Insurance (LV= GI)
General Insurance (GI), particularly home insurance, has long existed in the background of the mortgage advisory process. Frequently treated as a box-ticking exercise or often not discussed at all, it rarely gets the attention it deserves. But that approach not only short-changes customers - it also undermines advisers’ potential to build long-term, trusted client relationships and meaningful recurring revenue.
Speaking to Mortgage Introducer, Scott McLoughlin, National Sales Manager, LV= General Insurance (LV= GI), explained that the reason GI isn’t offered more is down to a combination of misconceptions.
“Would you ever let a client go and purchase their income protection or their life insurance from a comparison site?” questioned McLoughlin. “That thought should set off alarm bells - and home insurance should be no different.”
He argues that advisers must help clients see GI for what it is: an absolute essential item for any homeowner.
“Buying a house is the single biggest purchase you will probably make in your lifetime. So, you want to make sure that in the event of something going wrong with that property, it can be put right. If there's a fire, your home insurance will help rebuild it. If there’s a flood, we can dry it out and make sure you've got somewhere to live in the meantime,” he said
Introducing LV= GI’s SmartQuote platform
Part of the reticence to offer GI in the mortgage process stems from a historically time-consuming process. In the days before innovative tech, home insurance was sold and processed through a lengthy question set system - something that inevitably puts advisers off. Now, however, especially in the intermediary market, the quote process is streamlined, efficient and super-fast – especially when using LV= GI’s SmartQuote platform.
“Our quote and apply system is incredibly [fast],” said Scott McLoughlin. “There’re only five questions to get a quote, which is excellent.”
When it comes to commission, GI offers a recurring and sustainable income stream.
“People assume that the premiums from a home insurance policy won’t earn them a lot, but the good thing for advisers selling these products, is that they’ll earn commission for the life of the policy. So, you’ll get paid today - at new business, and at renewal you’ll get paid again.”
But offering GI isn’t just the strategic thing to do, it’s also the right thing to do. Advisers have a duty of care for clients and GI ties into that because, at its core, home insurance isn’t just a backup for catastrophic loss - it’s a frontline defence for everyday disruptions.
“People buy home insurance as a bit of a tick box exercise,” Mr McLoughlin added. “It covers the building if it burns down but the things that actually happen more often in everyday life are a glass of wine spilt on a carpet, a lost mobile phone or a broken-down boiler - things that can be put right with the right cover in place. Comparison site shoppers rarely think about those details, whereas advisers get to know the person sitting in front of them and their specific set of needs.
“An adviser gets to know the client. They know what hobbies they have; they understand their family makeup. They can then tailor the product for that person right there in front of them. They might have some first-time buyers who haven’t got kids in university, but they have mobile phones, tablets, and a dog. That’s what’s important to them right now. Fast forward three years, they might be married or expecting a child. Because home insurance renews every year, the adviser’s got a touchpoint to ask how things are and if anything has changed.”
When to raise GI in the mortgage process
Keeping in mind just how necessary GI is, when is the best time to raise the topic?? Well, it’s much sooner than you may think.
“Home insurance is the only product that can be discussed at multiple points in the journey,” Mr McLoughlin argued. “Fact finding, affordability checks, even just searching for a property.”
And with LV= GI’s SmartQuote offering quotes that are valid for 180 days, it’s easy to introduce early and keep the process frictionless.
“I find that it’s difficult to sell GI when you shock customers with it," added McLoughlin. “For instance, in the ninth hour when a buyer wants to exchange keys, and the adviser has forgotten to even mention home insurance. If an adviser’s done a quote two months ago, the clients know they’re going to come back and speak to them about it. It’s familiar – it’s less daunting.”
Offering GI isn’t just about today’s sale, it’s an investment in the client relationship.
“Let’s say an adviser puts someone in a five-year fixed rate today,” McLoughlin added. “Now they may have no reason to speak to that adviser again until four and a half years later. They have no relationship – they don’t know who they are.”
GI, by contrast, offers a reason for regular contact. Because GI renews every 12 months, the adviser can get in touch. This also leaves the conversation flowing for one of the most valuable parts of home insurance - the additional optional extra covers that clients often forget.
‘Personal Belongs cover is hugely important’
“Personal Belongings cover is hugely important,” McLoughlin explained. “People have a tendency to walk out the house without thinking about what’s in their bag or their pockets. Just pause for a second in a coffee shop and empty your pockets. You’ll be surprised. Mobile phone, jewellery, clothes, sunglasses, makeup - hundreds or thousands of pounds worth of items often completely uninsured.
These items are often what clients value most.
“If I lose or damage an iPad or a gaming console that my kids take out - it’s a disaster. [These things are] important to people.”
Other optional extras such as accidental damage and home emergency are also valuable. “At LV= GI, these two things come as standard in our Platinum product because we know people claim on them. Because we underwrite the product, we service the claims - we have the insight into what people are claiming for.”
From operational design to client delivery, LV= GI’s SmartQuote was built to address the precise reasons advisers don’t sell GI.
“We gathered feedback from advisers, networks, directly authorised firms - asking why they don’t sell home insurance” Mr McLoughlin recalled. “The answers were either ‘we can’t’ or ‘we won’t.’ SmartQuote addresses both, and it’s so quick. Within minutes, you’ve got a quote. Advisers often worry, ‘what if I answer something wrong? - ‘what kind of locks do you have? How flat is your roof?’ And they’re right – if they get that wrong the claim could be impacted and they’d be liable.”
SmartQuote changes that by removing complexity and reducing the risk of non-disclosure “We don’t ask those questions,” Mr McLoughlin said. “A number of data sources obtain that information for us”
The future: Where GI belongs in 2025 and beyond
Looking ahead, Scott believes GI needs a cultural reset. He told Mortgage Introducer that advisers need a mindset change.
“GI is the only product that is a mandatory part of a mortgage. Without buildings cover, you will not get a mortgage- yet, too many advisers treat it as a technicality when they could use it as a solution to help clients stay protected long-term. It should be the number one thing that advisers speak about. I’m extremely passionate about that.”
