Best Deal Story
In search of the true best deal.
It's a story about small print. About why you shouldn't always go with
the big names or low prices. Above all, it's about how insurance can
change your life. It’s the story of Best Deal Insurance.
My name's David Thomson. Back in the 1990s, I worked for two of the
country's largest estate-agency chains, arranging mortgages and
insurance for clients looking to buy or remortgage property. I arranged
hundreds every year. I was possibly the UK’s top mortgage advisor.
Every day, when a client walked in to the estate agency, I'd be introduced
as the 'independent mortgage advisor'. This was only partly true. I had
free rein on mortgages, but was tied to just one insurance company.
Surprise, surprise, it was the one that owned the estate agencies.
It's a story retold across the vast majority of the UK's financial
providers.
Terrible value
The policies I was forced to sell offered terrible value for money. What's more, the company's
critical-illness policy covered only nine illnesses, when other policies were available that covered 30
or more.
Provided we arranged the mortgage the client wanted, they paid very little attention to the insurance.
After all, the insurance company had been in business for more than 150 years and people believed they
provided the cover they needed.
How wrong they were. Even worse, when a client took their policy to an Independent Financial Advisor,
the IFA would cancel the policy and recommend another. But it was always the cheapest on the market -
never the best. I had a slogan for the IFAs: 'cheap price, no advice'.
Guarantees
Some IFAs even admitted that they focused on their high-net-worth clients and on investments and
pensions - as "that was where the money was". I realised someone had to guarantee people the
best deal on their insurance every time. Someone had to tell them if their policies were truly the best
available.
The market was crying out for a company with advisors who knew the small print of every insurance
contract and could explain it simply, too. A company that could compare insurance contracts so that
people could easily spot the differences between policies.
I set up Best Deal Insurance. And started changing people's lives.
Life-changing
Soon after, one of my advisors arranged a mortgage for a client, explaining that he needed to change his
critical-illness insurance policy from third party to fully comprehensive.
He was reluctant - he'd bought from a household name. But my advisor showed him the flaws in the
policy and he changed providers. Two months later, his wife developed skin cancer, a condition not
covered under the original policy. Thanks to Best Deal, the clients had their mortgage paid off in full.
"It’s changed our lives," they said.
In another instance, another advisor placed a follow-up customer-service call with a client who bought
critical-illness cover only because the advisor was so persuasive. It turned out to be the best advice
she ever had. She was in remission from breast cancer. She's still grateful to this day.
So, ask yourself: if you're about to buy an insurance policy, will you truly be getting the best deal?
David Thomson - Chief Executive