Advisers must help clients see beyond debt coverage to full income protection, says one broker
A client survives a serious illness. The mortgage is covered. But the council tax still arrives, the energy bills keep coming, and the weekly food shop does not stop. According to one broker, this is precisely the gap that too many protection conversations fail to address.
Chetan Jethwa (pictured top), managing director at Vistaara Financial Solutions, has argued that mortgage advisers must broaden their approach to protection — moving beyond debt repayment and towards a fuller picture of what clients stand to lose if they can no longer work.
Jethwa contends that while mortgage protection has become routine, it covers only one of many financial obligations. Car finance, childcare costs, and everyday living expenses all continue regardless of whether a mortgage is paid off.
"Protection shouldn't be viewed as a single product; it should be viewed as a plan," he said. "As advisers, we have a responsibility to look beyond today's mortgage and help clients visualise tomorrow's reality."
He pointed to figures from the Association of British Insurers showing that UK insurers paid more than £8 billion in life insurance, critical illness, and income protection claims in 2024. Life insurance alone accounted for over £4 billion, while 20,990 critical illness claims resulted in £1.443 billion paid to families, with nearly 90% of claims accepted.
Jethwa urged advisers to ask clients directly what their finances would look like if illness or injury prevented them from earning for six months, a year, or longer — framing the exercise as a way to make the risks tangible rather than theoretical.
"The best protection conversations don't end with, 'Your mortgage is covered,'" Jethwa said. "They end with, 'Whatever tomorrow brings, you and your family have a financial plan.'"
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