Brexit deals have been struck, signed and fundamentally disagreed with by some senior policymakers and Prime Minister Theresa May has been tested in a confidence vote.
As a result, sterling has slid, the government of the UK is on shaky ground and the scare stories about medicine shortages and house price drops are still circulating.
In such an environment of noise and speculation, it is not unnatural for many people to want to take steps against every possibility.
So, if clients are concerned about a weak economy post-Brexit, how helpful might an accident, sickness and unemployment policy be for clients? Moreover, what else could they be doing to protect themselves in the event of a weak jobs market, or potential recessionary environment?
Historically, uncertainty has led to more inquiries about insurance, protection specialists have claimed.
Dean Mason, director and founder at Masons Financial Planning, says ASU has typically seen a spike in sales whenever the UK economy has seemed to be shaky.
He says: “There is no doubt sales of this type of cover increase in times of recession and with economy and job worries in the air around Brexit we have been seeing an increase in enquiries for some time, if not in take-up as yet.
“Certainly individuals need to assess their position and the likelihood of finding a new job in this challenging environment and, as always, take bespoke advice from a protection professional.”
But is Brexit really as big a concern as the headlines suggest?
Kesh Thukaram, a founding director of Best Insurance, believes so. “Brexit is definitely a major cause of concern,” he says. “Therefore, it would be prudent to insure against redundancy.”
He is not the only one concerned. Rob Harvey, adviser at Drewberry, agrees with Mr Mason that the number of enquiries for unemployment insurance always picks up when the economy takes a spill, and the insurance industry can expect to see a resurgence given the impending Brexit date of March 29 2019.
According to Mr Harvey: “Brexit will likely be one of the biggest shocks the UK economy has faced in some years, so enquiries are likely to rise concurrently.”
Sectors at risk
Like Mr Mason, Mr Thukaram has seen more enquiries about protection policies since the UK voted to leave the European Union back in June 2016, and in the light of some very high-profile company closures.
“There has been a surge in the number of people working in retail and financial services buying policies. Eighteen months ago, it was oil and gas, and government/public services.”
If clients – or members of their families – are in certain occupations, it might behove them to consider taking out some financial protection just in case their sector becomes vulnerable to any economic downturn.
Steve Devine, chairman of the Protect Association, thinks Brexit has already contributed to increased sales in the long-term protection market, and agrees certain sectors appear to be more at risk, such as high-street casualties.
