Why brokers must become financial wellbeing advisers

Mortgage brokers have long been seen as facilitators of homeownership. But with household budgets under pressure and savings dwindling, their role is evolving into something broader: financial wellbeing advisers.

"If you look now, most families we speak to don't have savings or assets they can quickly access if something goes wrong," said Dale North, director at Pure Protect. "People's mortgage payments are a higher percentage of their income, leaving little room for unexpected costs. That makes protection products like income protection and life insurance more critical than ever."

North said brokers who see their job as purely transactional are missing the bigger picture. "Some still say, 'We did 50 mortgages last month,' but only referred a handful for protection. That tells me the conversation isn’t happening often enough."

He points to time constraints as a key reason. "It’s not that brokers want to put clients in a bad position. But they're under pressure, so they default to matching protection only to the mortgage. They’re not asking: 'What happens if your income stops?' or 'How would your family manage financially?'"

Research supports North’s view. Many clients who receive critical illness payouts don’t use them to repay the mortgage, suggesting needs extend beyond the home loan itself.

Start early, talk openly

A better approach, North said, is to integrate protection conversations from the outset. "Too many brokers wait until exchange or completion to talk about it. By then, the client's focus is elsewhere. We should be packaging the risks with the mortgage from day one."

Technology could help streamline this process. "Insurer support levels are poor," he said. "One insurer recently quoted a 39-day turnaround just to look at cases. That undermines the message that protection is urgent. We need more innovation to make offering protection easier for brokers."

Embedding holistic advice

To truly serve as financial wellbeing advisers, North believes brokers must commit to ongoing client relationships. "Income protection, especially, needs regular review. People change jobs, get promotions, or see their health evolve. Contacting clients every couple of years should be standard."

Training and consistency across the industry also matter. "Some brokers do this well. Others don’t go beyond what’s required for the mortgage. There’s no uniform way of working, and that’s a problem. We need to make sure all clients are put in an informed position, even if they choose not to take cover."

He added: "If something terrible happens, clients will look back and ask, 'What was I offered?' And if the answer is 'nothing,' that’s a failure."

A call for accountability

Despite calls for reform, insurance remains optional for homeowners in the UK. North doesn’t advocate mandating cover, but he does believe offering it should be compulsory. "I'd guess 15 to 20% of the market isn't even being shown protection options. That’s criminal."

With affordability concerns and living costs still rising, the need for forward planning has never been clearer. "We don’t want to end up back in a 2008 scenario, where expenditure outweighs income," North said. "Brokers have to think not just about what their clients can afford today, but what they can sustain in five or ten years."

For brokers willing to adopt a more holistic mindset, the opportunity is significant. "It’s not about selling policies," North said. "It’s about giving people the knowledge and tools to make informed decisions. That’s what real financial wellbeing advice looks like."

As regulation evolves and expectations rise, that broader role may soon become the benchmark, not the exception.