Sesame Network and PMS Mortgage Club have launched its 2019 Rewire Routines campaign to help improve advisers’ protection conversations with their customers.

The campaign runs for 21 days, from 4 June to 24 June, and is open to all advisers across the industry.

It asks advisers to sign a Charter that commits them to provide a comprehensive protection recommendation to every mortgage customer during the campaign period. Along with a wide range of practical support activity, for every adviser who signs up a donation of £5 will be made to national charity Turn2Us, which aims to help people get their lives back on track after illness, bereavement or losing their job.

Jeff Woods, campaigns & propositions director for Sesame Bankhall Group, said: “Our Rewire Routines campaign has been successful in creating healthy habits, which last year led to advisers having more regular protection and general insurance conversations with their customers.

“In 2019 we want to move the campaign on a step further by exploring the quality of those conversations and by also placing a greater emphasis on the importance of protecting people in life and not just death. Whilst the majority of people taking out a mortgage have life cover, this figure drops to less than 20% when it comes to income protection.

“This imbalance doesn’t reflect the reality of how people live and work today, which is why it’s so important to have a conversation based on protecting a customer’s wider needs and not just the mortgage. Our campaign is breaking down the barriers in order to help advisers have better conversations with their clients about the risks they face and how this can be protected.”

Advisers signing-up to the campaign will receive access to a dedicated hub, offering a range of resources and support materials, along with a programme of training sessions throughout the campaign period, which aims to help advisers to have more effective protection conversations.

This support includes webinars hosted by leading product providers, to assist advisers through the 21 day initiative with tips and training techniques to help top-up knowledge gaps.

Martin Schultheiss, group managing director at Sesame Bankhall Group, said: “Our campaign is aiming to make comprehensive protection and general insurance conversations a habitual part of the mortgage advice process, so that every client walks away with a clear understanding of how to protect their lifestyle and loved ones.

“Last year’s Rewire Routines campaign was a great success, and the 700 advisers who took part helped to raise over £10,000 for charity, as well as increasing their protection business by 22% and general insurance by 43%. We’ve made great strides, but there’s still much more our industry needs to do, so we’re looking forward to working closely with our members and provider partners on this campaign to help protect and improve more people’s financial wellbeing.”

Steve Bryan, director of distribution and marketing at The Exeter, added: “We’re really pleased to be supporting the Rewire Routines initiative for the second year running. It’s no surprise that few people want to talk about illness with a financial adviser, but these conversations are essential.

“As an industry we should be proud of the huge number of families we have already helped and the next step is initiatives like this that will ultimately allow customers the best chance of accessing protection for themselves and their family.”