Advisers are helping Gen Z and millennial clients see cover as a financial essential, not an optional extra
Carmen Green (pictured top) didn’t plan on becoming a mortgage adviser. At 18, she took a temp admin role at a brokerage. Eleven years later, she’s a senior adviser at Xpress Mortgages, guiding younger buyers through a housing market shaped by rising costs, digital expectations, and growing financial vulnerability.
Green has worked through stamp duty holidays, Covid shutdowns, and today’s high-rate environment, but she’s seeing a more fundamental shift. “The average age of first-time buyers is now mid-30s. People are starting families or thinking about dependents as they buy,” she said. That change, she argues, demands a broader kind of advice.
When protection becomes personal
For Green, the shift is more than professional, it’s personal. A homeowner since 21 and now a parent, she brings that lived experience into her conversations with clients. “I need to make sure everybody can stay in this house,” she said. “Yeah, great, we bought it, but we want to be able to live here and have a home for everyone.”
That mindset informs how she talks about protection. “There’s a big stigma about protection and it being like sharks in water, trying to get additional sales,” she said. “But especially with younger clients, the policies are so cheap that you don’t actually make that much money from them as an adviser.”
She focuses on value over fear. “If you have a phone, a lot of people have phone insurance. I can’t believe that car insurance is a must and life insurance isn’t.”
She also reframes what protection covers. “People think of it as life insurance, but income protection and critical illness are part of it too. Death seems so far away when you’re this age, but being signed off work with no income feels very real.”
To make it tangible, she often walks clients through their spending. “Do you really not think that you can afford this £10, £15, £20, £30 policy that’s going to actually protect you?”
Meeting digital expectations
Green’s younger clients expect convenience. “Social media is massive. Everyone’s on it. And it makes it a bit more casual,” she said. Her team produces educational content and uses WhatsApp, voice notes, and video calls to fit into clients’ lives.
Many younger clients prefer not to speak on the phone at all, opting instead for messages, voice notes, or WhatsApp, methods that allow them to engage on their own time.
Education is central. “By the time they actually come for a proper meeting, they already feel well informed, so they have that confidence.”
For self-employed clients or those with side hustles, early conversations are essential. “As soon as you’ve got an inclination that you might want to get on the property ladder, have the conversations now,” Green said. She flags the tension between tax efficiency and mortgage readiness. “The conversations you’re having with your accountant might not align with what a lender needs to see.”
After completion, the work continues
Green doesn’t see completion as the end of the relationship. “We have a six-month follow-up specifically for that,” she said. “You’ve settled in, had your first few months of bills, and might be more aware of what your budget is for the protection.”
She’s seen the risks of delay. “I had a client who said, 'We can’t take this on at the moment.' They unfortunately fell poorly. Most protection providers, if you’re unwell at the time, they have to wait.”
She also makes sure clients know about added value: GP access, gym discounts, mental health support. “It’s not just that you get a policy and put it in a drawer,” she said. “You can get ongoing benefits with those.”
One of the most common myths she tackles is about how payouts must be used. “They don’t have to go to your mortgage. One client used a critical illness payout to go on holiday and recover mentally. That’s just as valid.”
Turning sceptics into planners
Younger buyers often arrive sceptical, but leave empowered. Green’s strategy is simple: honest conversations, clear education, and advice delivered on their terms.
“If you’ve done your job throughout the process, protection won’t feel like a bolt-on,” she said. “It’ll feel like part of what they came to you for in the first place.”
