Financial Resilience: 7 Conversation Starters for Advisers
With financial resilience continuing to be a hot topic, we’ve put together seven conversation starters to help advisers. These questions are designed for you to ask your clients with the aim of opening up meaningful and positive discussions around financial resilience – what it means and how protection could play a vital role in building it.
1. What does financial resilience mean to your client?
The definition of financial resilience is the ability to withstand and recover from financial shocks or disruptions. It’s how well clients might deal with a financial curveball – something totally unexpected that they hadn’t planned for.
But financial resilience is bigger than having contingency plans for an emergency, it’s about being confident that they can enjoy their life without fear of significant changes to their lifestyle or that of their loved ones.
2. Can your client remember a time when they’ve had a financial shock or surprise?
Has your client ever had a sudden job change or unexpected health issue? Maybe they have experienced financial uncertainty due to a market crash, recession or change of government? They may have even had a serious accident or lost their home in a fire or flood. How did they feel?
HSBC Life (UK)’s National Account Manager, Claire Bostock, suggests advisers could share a personal story here, if they have one, as it could help to build empathy and trust.
3. What three things in your client’s life do they value the most?
Asking for a definitive number could help your clients really focus in. Maybe it’s their home they value most, maybe it’s their grandchildren or their active lifestyle. Whatever it is, asking your client what they value could really help them reflect on what matters – and whether it’s adequately protected from financial shocks and surprises. This may be even more crucial for lone parent families, as they tend to be less financially resilient1.
Talking about loved ones who may depend on your client’s income, even pets, might also evoke positive emotions and make the interaction more memorable. This conversation could be a positive and empowering one, you’re talking to your client about being proactive and looking after their future self.
4. Does your client know the difference between financial resilience and financial vulnerability?
Many people don’t consider themselves financially vulnerable. However, a high proportion of us could find ourselves in a financially vulnerable situation at any time of life.
When we talked to the Protection Coach, Matthew Chapman, he said, “It’s not just about having three to six months of salary saved, it’s about your whole future – the rest of your life. How do you keep the house and lifestyle you’ve worked and saved so hard for?”
Supporting customer resilience as a whole, HSBC Life (UK) customers also have access to the Online Health Services which include up to eight mental health consultations a year*. For the full details including the yearly benefit allowance limits click here.
5. What is your client’s company sick pay policy?
Statutory Sick Pay is £118.75 per week for up to 28 weeks2, and many people don’t know whether their employer’s sick pay policy offers any more than this.
For some people with a diagnosis of cancer, they may need to take up to a year off work. For many people, this just may not be possible using their company or Statutory Sick Pay, meaning less time to recover properly.
Whilst critical illness cover isn’t designed to replace income like other types of insurance, it could help to cover the costs of the miscellaneous expenses that could occur when a client is diagnosed with a critical illness, such as travel, car parking, childcare and help around the home.
You could show your clients Sam’s video as she talks about how her critical illness payment meant she could concentrate on her recovery from cancer.
6. Does your client have savings? What do they plan to use these for?
Hopefully your client is not among the 29% who have less than £1,000 in savings3 – ideally they have something squirrelled away. This money might be earmarked to support their kids through university or in case their parents need later life care. They may have their heart set on an early retirement or some exciting global travels.
Whatever their savings are earmarked for, would they be upset to have to use them to plug a gap caused by illness, or even the loss of a partner? True financial resilience would mean being able to weather such an event, without additional financial stresses.
7. How optimistic does your client feel about their financial resilience?
It’s great to be a glass-half-full person, but maybe not when it comes to our financial futures and that of our loved ones. Studies show that people over-estimate their financial resilience, so it might be worth your clients taking some time to properly assess theirs and talk to you about their financial goals.
They may also decide to talk to their partner, parents, children and friends about financial resilience too in case there’s something they’re missing that would be fairly simple to put into place. A good example is checking any life insurance policies are written in trust.
Essentially, becoming financial resilient is a marathon not a sprint, and as an adviser, you could help educate clients and empower them to take control.
Find out more about our protection proposition.
1 https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/financial-lives/financial-lives-survey-2024-key-findings.pdf
2 https://www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay
*HSBC Online Health Services is a non-contractual benefit provided by Square Health. The services provided are not part of the insurance cover the policies provide. While HSBC Life has the right to change or remove these additional health services at any time, such a decision will not affect the policyholder’s insurance cover with HSBC Life in any way.
HSBC Life (UK) Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Registered in England (United Kingdom) number 00088695. Registered Office: 8 Canada Square, London E14 5HQ. Our Financial Services Register number is 133435. HSBC Life (UK) Limited is a member of the Association of British Insurers