The Practical Protection Podcast

Kathryn Knowles

When you set out to get things like life insurance, critical illness cover or income protection, many people do not think that they are going to hit any snags along the way. But! Insurance is a world of risk and there are times that a persons circumstances will make insurers sit back and have an extra think about offering the insurance. Why?! This podcast is designed to answer that why. Kathryn Knowles is joined by guests to bring a clear and open chat about how insurance works. Kathryn brings her experience as a "quirky" life and the voice of the consumer to the discussion. She does this alongside her work as a specialist adviser, who is known for insuring the uninsurable.

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  1. Joint Life Second Death vs Single Life Insurance

    EPISODE 1

    Joint Life Second Death vs Single Life Insurance

    Hi everyone, we are back after the lovely summer of 2025. One thing I love about the insurance world is how you can never know everything, there is always so much more to understand and consider. I have a few episodes coming up that have been in the background of my mind for a while. I like to make sure that I have seen things from all angles before I bring it to you. For the first episode of Season 11 I am taking you some things to consider for joint life second death versus single life cover. You might be thinking, hang on what is Kathryn on about, those types of policies are for different things. It is a unique set of circumstances that I am talking through, but still very important to know. When I was recording this I realised that what I’m covering is really quite technical and I jump about a bit, between different areas. I’m sorry! There was no way to easily avoid it.  The key takeaways: Joint life second death policies with a notional decline, cost the same as a single life policyPros and cons of a single life policy being arranged instead of JLSDA case study example of costing for a JLSD policy and JLSD with a notional decline I’ve also got some exciting news for the podcast, exciting to me anyway. My eldest son Theodore turns 14 soon and is going to start working for me. So all things podcast related including your CPD certificates will soon be done by him. Next time Alan will be back with me and we will be chatting through arranging protection insurance when you have coeliac disease. There has been some changes when it comes to underwriting that we will be going through. Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

    21 min
  2. Coeliac Disease

    EPISODE 2

    Coeliac Disease

    Hi everyone, Alan is back with me and this time we are focusing on coeliac disease. A lot of people think of gluten when they hear coeliac disease and have a feeling that all it means is don’t eat bread, pasta, etc. But, it can be much more than that when it comes to underwriting. A lot of the time coeliac disease is not a concern to insurers looking at life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection. However there are quite a few things you should check with your client about the condition, before you assume that their insurance applications will be accepted at standard terms. The key takeaways: Approximately 1 in every 100 people are coeliac and it is estimated that around 500,000 people are undiagnosed in the UKWhilst it is not common, coeliac disease can increase the risk of other medical conditions such as bowel cancerThree case studies of arranging protection insurance for people living with coeliac disease Next time I am going to be focusing upon critical illness cover being written into Trust. There are some specific technicalities at the point of the claim that are worth knowing, so that you can properly advise your clients about placing the cover into Trust or not. Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

    25 min
  3. Critical Illness Cover in Trust

    EPISODE 3

    Critical Illness Cover in Trust

    Hi everyone, I am taking another focus on Trusts this week. This time I am looking specifically at critical illness cover, as there are some potential issues that could be faced for vulnerable clients, including people who are experiencing economic abuse. There is a huge drive in our industry to place policies into Trust. It’s the kind of thing where I might potentially do a compliance fail with my team if a policy hasn’t been put in Trust where there’s a really simple online system to do so. (I know, I’m a battle-axe!) But, they are really so important and there are not many occasions when a Trust isn’t relevant or easy to do. However, there’s an emerging problem with critical illness policies placed into Trust. The key takeaways: To make a claim on a critical illness policy, all trustees must sign the claim formA critical illness policy placed within a Trust could be a vehicle for an abusive Trustee to prevent a client from receiving vital financial supportInsurers are aware of this issue, but there are no ways to improve the process, with current Trust formats Next time, Alan will be back with me and we are going to be going through protection insurance options for people living with cystic fibrosis. If you have tried to get cover for clients in the past with cystic fibrosis, you’ve probably seen how difficult it can be. We’re going to be taking you through the different options that you can consider. Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

    21 min
  4. Cystic Fibrosis

    EPISODE 4

    Cystic Fibrosis

    Hi everyone, Alan is joining me again to give us all insights into arranging protection insurance for someone living with cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is a condition that can be difficult to insure for life insurance. Historically, the life expectancy of a person living with cystic fibrosis has been much lower than average, which means that insurers see it as quite a high risk for a claim. The good news is that modern medicine has now significantly improved the outlook and half of people living with CF are now likely to live to at least the age of 56. Unfortunately standard routes for personal critical illness cover and income protection are not currently available. The absolutely best way to be covered by these insurances is through group cover through an employer, but even then there can still be some technicalities that can cause an issue at point of claim. The key takeaways: Approximately 11,000 are affected by cystic fibrosis in the UK and 1 in 25 people carry the gene without knowing itThe median age for people living with cystic fibrosis that died in 2022, was the age of 33.Three case studies of arranging life insurance for people living with cystic fibrosis. Next time I am going to be talking about the FCA’s recent protection insurance paper and my interpretation of what this means for our industry going forward. Remember, if you are listening to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on our website, thanks to our sponsors NextGen Planners.

    29 min
See All Season 11 (4)

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About

When you set out to get things like life insurance, critical illness cover or income protection, many people do not think that they are going to hit any snags along the way. But! Insurance is a world of risk and there are times that a persons circumstances will make insurers sit back and have an extra think about offering the insurance. Why?! This podcast is designed to answer that why. Kathryn Knowles is joined by guests to bring a clear and open chat about how insurance works. Kathryn brings her experience as a "quirky" life and the voice of the consumer to the discussion. She does this alongside her work as a specialist adviser, who is known for insuring the uninsurable.

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