Benefit reforms regarding sickness benefits could provide a chance for advisers to increase their protection business, says financial research firm Defaqto .
The Welfare Reform Act, which has now come into force, has abolished existing incapacity benefit for new claimants and replaced it with Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
According to Defaqto, the rule change will bring about reduced support for those incapacitated by sickness or accident and this could lead to an increased demand for income protection insurance .
Ben Heffer, principal life and pensions consultant at Defaqto, said: "Advisers should approach their SME clients to ensure that they have group IP and to ensure that those that do, have the right levels of cover in place." He also said that given the Governments emphasis on rehabilitation, policies that can also provide cover to help employees back to work, such as those covering the cost of installing wheelchair ramps and other disabled access, will be especially useful.




