Financial Advisory Approach

Contributed by Zhummmeng

A financial advisory approach is entirely different from product pushing.  The advisory approach aims to put the interest of the clients first and to address the cleints' interest on a reasonable basis.Products are solutions.It is assumed that the advisers have no inkling of the product suitable for the clients until the clients' needs are uncovered.

The product pushing approach is aimed at selling the products with the highest commission that benefit the salesmen and NOT the clients.It is peddling the products upfront. It is fast and quick way of making money for the insurance salesmen. All MDRT, COT or TOT aspirants use this method and to make a lot of commission to qualify for these dubious awards because it is commission based.MAS must address this if it wants to see a fair dealing outcome for consumers.

In an advisory process it begins with gathering of data , needs, goals fears and concerns of the clients, financial circumstances, preferences etc and then followed by analysis and then recommendation and implementation of the recommendations or executions and monitoring.

The advisory is a 6 step approach:
1.Establishment of relationship between client and adviser, defination of goals and objectives 
2.data gathering.
3.Analysis
4.Recommendations/a plan constructed
5.Implementation
6. Monitoring and review

The whole process is documented in the fact find form, from analysis to recommendation and reasons of recommendation..This plan is portable and can be reviewed by another adviser to continue the advisory work if the client wants a change of adviser.

So, you see, the whole process isn't what the insurance agents are doing. Do you think your needs can be settled within an hour? Sure, your "needs" will be short changed if you are product sold. Not only that, you are likely to be mis-sold ,misrepresented all because of the greed or incompetence of the insurance agents. It is very clear insurance agents pushing products have no desire to help the clients meet their goals.

To solve this problem.
1. Make the advisory need based approach compulsory for most if not all cases. Who needs this most? The ordinary man in the street needs this help. They are clueless, ignorant and not financially savvy. Usually these people make up the major clientele of any adviser and not the rich or savvy who don't need advice.
2. Make all advisers or insurance agents accountable and liable for their recommendations. This is to prevent product pushing and malpractice.
3. Remove the commission and replace with fee . (commission is the major cause of mis-selling and conflict of interest)
4.  Set a review body to help clients review their existing policies for mis-selling or conflict of interest and inappropriate recommendations.
5. A product advice or no advice WARNING to savvy clients. A warning must be verbally told to client and stated in the fact find form that choosing the options of 'product advice' and 'no advice' will put them at a disadvantage and by their action their rights to redress will be forfeited and waived if the product bought is wrong.

This is necessary to prevent abuse by insurance agents who try to avoid fact finding or to decieve the cleints that fact find is inconveneint to them and messy. This is also to stop the insurance agents from short changing the clients.Currently it seems that insurance agents' clients are financially savvy.The fact it is the opposite. All clients must be assumed to be clueless in order for a proper process to take place.

Zhummmeng