Lifesearch Vs Cavendish online Income protection

csgohan4

Just called Lifesearch after giving my details to Cavendish to initiate quotes for income protection and Critical illness

Before I finished, the call handler at Lifesearch shut me down and said Cavendish online will always be cheaper and they are more expensive as they provide more tailoring and service to their clients.

Is this normal to conduct business? Your potentially turning away business.

what do the others think?

dunstonh

Is this normal to conduct business? Your potentially turning away business.

Cavendish is execution only. I believe Lifesearch is advised. An advised solution will always be more expensive. So, if you approached them on the basis of cost then their response seems correct.

That said, Cavendish isnt whole of market I believe and in the case of income protection that can be very important as frequently you have to go to the old friendly societies to get the best option for the right person. So, it is possible that a whole of market solution could have been better, although not cheaper.

csgohan4

dunstonh wrote: »

Cavendish is execution only. I believe Lifesearch is advised. An advised solution will always be more expensive. So, if you approached them on the basis of cost then their response seems correct.

That said, Cavendish isnt whole of market I believe and in the case of income protection that can be very important as frequently you have to go to the old friendly societies to get the best option for the right person. So, it is possible that a whole of market solution could have been better, although not cheaper.

In terms of broker for income protection, I presume google will suffice or are there any particular ones that are helpful than the two already mentioned.

Weighty1

There are literally thousands of independent mortgage/insurance/FA's who could search for you. All you need to do is look for the word "independent".

I think many may not necessarily want to offer advice as my experience is that, often, clients who have sought out Cavendish Online see cost above all other factors and on the basis that Cavendish pretty much work for nothing it's nigh on impossible for a broker to compete when cost is the most significant factor.

Out of interest, after looking at Cavendish why are you still bothering to search?

csgohan4

Weighty1 wrote: »

There are literally thousands of independent mortgage/insurance/FA's who could search for you. All you need to do is look for the word "independent".

I think many may not necessarily want to offer advice as my experience is that, often, clients who have sought out Cavendish Online see cost above all other factors and on the basis that Cavendish pretty much work for nothing it's nigh on impossible for a broker to compete when cost is the most significant factor.

Out of interest, after looking at Cavendish why are you still bothering to search?

To double check the costs are similar or worse, as Cavendish aren't that much cheaper than the rest from experience. But I've had life assurance from Lifesearch and I found them helpful, but then their advisory service

Weighty1

csgohan4 wrote: »

To double check the costs are similar or worse, as Cavendish aren't that much cheaper than the rest from experience. But I've had life assurance from Lifesearch and I found them helpful, but then their advisory service

The cost difference with Cavendish is going to be dependent on the premium size. If you were finding that Cavendish weren't that much cheaper with your life insurance then you were probably dealing with a relatively small premium.

On a like for like basis Cavendish will ALWAYS be a cheaper option.

csgohan4

Ironically Lifesearch ended up cheaper for the same insurer on a like for like basis, so I am going ahead with lifesearch's quote




Good to shop around in this case

Weighty1

I'm amazed! The adviser must have done a very hefty commission sacrifice in that case.

dunstonh

Weighty1 wrote: »

I'm amazed! The adviser must have done a very hefty commission sacrifice in that case.

Maybe knew this thread was going and identified who it was and made a business decision.

csgohan4, what was the commission payable on the policy? This is disclosed on your quote where there is a commission taken.

csgohan4

dunstonh wrote: »

Maybe knew this thread was going and identified who it was and made a business decision.

csgohan4, what was the commission payable on the policy? This is disclosed on your quote where there is a commission taken.

either way better for me in terms of cost, but i got the lifesearch quote before i posted on here, so no way they would have made a business decision

No info on commission i can see, it is a quote via email. The difference isn't that much, about 2 pounds a month less than cavendish

They are not the cheapest generally lifesearch but their advisors are top notch, so I have no issues using them again and in fact running a life assurance quote for Mrs Gohan too.

At most difference is minimal maybe 2-5 pounds a month extra for us and they know who has better underwriters if you have any medical issues for example

Weighty1

csgohan4 wrote: »

either way better for me in terms of cost, but i got the lifesearch quote before i posted on here, so no way they would have made a business decision

No info on commission i can see, it is a quote via email. The difference isn't that much, about 2 pounds a month less than cavendish

They are not the cheapest generally lifesearch but their advisors are top notch, so I have no issues using them again and in fact running a life assurance quote for Mrs Gohan too.

At most difference is minimal maybe 2-5 pounds a month extra for us and they know who has better underwriters if you have any medical issues for example

To discount a premium by £2/month on top of a premium that would have already been heavily discounted by Cavendish is actually a very large difference, in my opinion.

I've actually just looked on the Cavendish Online website for the first time in a long time and have seen that for income protection you can't get a quote immediately online. It needs to be done via their advisory arm. Whilst Cavendish state that they still discount a large percentage of the commission there's obviously enough commission within it to enable LifeSearch to further discount the quote. If Cavendish went down the same route for IP as they do for life cover then it simply wouldn't be worthwhile LifeSearch writing the business if on a like for like basis.