General insurance (GI) provider Paymentshield is hosting a series of five regional events across the UK in a bid to help advisers brush up on their GI knowledge and increase selling confidence.

Kicking off in October, the GI Academy Live series – which will be free to attend – will share best practice and support advisers in keeping pace with the protection market landscape. It aims to equip advisers with “tangible tools” that they can take back to their businesses to develop and grow their customer base.

It follows research Paymentshield conducted with over 300 advisers earlier this year, in which half of advisers (48%) stated that GI has become a more important source of income for them in the current economic climate.

The first event in the series will take place in Stoke-on-Trent on 4th October, and will be followed by London on the 11th October, Cardiff on the 18th October, Newcastle on the 20th October, and Glasgow on the 1st November.

The events will all follow a four-part structure, starting with a tailored regional spotlight that will see Paymentshield provide local market insight to attendees.

The second part of the session will look at how to position GI as part of the sales process, what buying ‘signals’ to look out for and salient points to discuss with clients, before moving on to a discussion of technology in the market and how it can support advisers to make smarter and quicker decisions.

The final part of the day will focus specifically on the remortgage market – consistently the most overlooked GI opportunity for advisers.

Paymentshield’s 2022 Adviser Survey revealed that nearly three in five advisers (57%) still sometimes miss opportunities to sell GI, with one in five advisers (21%) not discussing GI with remortgage clients at all.

Tickets for the events will be allocated on a first come, first served basis and advisers can register to attend here. Attendance will count towards the 15-hour CPD requirement that forms part of the Insurance Distribution Directive.

Emma Green (pictured), director of distribution at Paymentshield, said: “These events are intended to help advisers capitalise on the GI opportunity and realise its potential in terms of retaining customers, taking good care of their customers’ interests, and of course in increasing revenue – which we know will be particularly valuable for advisers amid the cost-of-living crisis.

“We’ve designed the sessions to be as open as possible so advisers will have ample opportunity to ask any questions they might have. We hope that they will leave feeling more confident in their ability to sell GI.”