The Practical Protection Podcast

Hosted by Kathryn Knowles

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Episodes

159

Latest episode

Oct 2026

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About the show

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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60 recent

October 22, 202653 min

Life Milestones

Hi everybody, I am back to chat about the times in a person’s life when things like life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection, really stand out. It might just be a natural next step in our lives in terms of independence and a growing family, or it might be that something unexpected has happened. It’s very tricky as an adviser as we know that our clients could really benefit from x, y, z, but they might not be open to discussing them. You might find that your client doesn’t want options for income protection, but you could still put in your recommendation that they need it and a basic cost for it. The key takeaways: Life milestones include buying a home, getting a new job, starting a family, losing a loved one, getting divorced and more As an adviser we might see a need for life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection, but we have to be mindful that people don’t ‘have’ to take these out Whether you integrate protection insurance into your own work, or signpost to another firm, either way is fine as you are making sure the client is getting a chance to see ways to protect their finances Next time Jo Miller is going to be back with us, talking about all things Income Protection, with updates about the Income Protection Taskforce. 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 PlannerX .

October 8, 202638 min

GP Reports

Hi everybody, I am back with a chat about GP reports and the way they are used to support protection insurance applications. Insurers do try their best to avoid GP reports wherever possible, they are costly, delay the start of policies and the ability to offer terms after the report are actually quite low. They also don’t want to put extra pressure on the NHS. This means that insurers only go for GP reports when they absolutely need to see clear records of something on a person’s medical history. If someone has their full medical records, or specific specialist letters, insurers will try to use these to underwrite an application and get the cover in place as soon as possible. The key takeaways: The pros and cons of paper vs electronic GP reports GP reports can have an errors in them and it’s essential that these are corrected not just for the insurance application, but for their own health data Splitting insurance over multiple policies instead of one, can mean that GP reports aren’t needed Next time I will be going through different life milestones and how they can trigger conversations about protection insurance. 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 PlannerX .

September 24, 202634 min

Sports and Hobbies

Hi everybody, I hope that you’re all well and getting close to having completed most of your CPD for the year, but have no worries I will still be here to help you get that extra IDD CPD in. In the most recent episode of the podcast I am focusing on how sports and hobbies can affect applications for protection insurance. One of the most interesting things that I find about sports and hobbies , is that people that do then, don’t tend to think that they should be any concern to the insurer. They do them and do them very safely, but ultimately they are in an environment that is not as safe being at home curled up with a cuppa on the sofa. The key takeaways: Insurers often want to know about scuba diving, sailing, motorbike riding, private flying and more, even horse riding! Insurers like to ask a catch all question about any extreme sports not listed - how are you meant to know what these are? Sports can lead to the highest type of rating for life insurance and are some of the key reasons that income protection applications have exclusions or are declined I will be back next time with some insights into GP reports. GP reports are currently a key part of many insurance applications in the UK, they can really support your client 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 PlannerX .

September 10, 202627 min

Income Protection Claim - Parkinsons

Hi everybody, I am back from the summer holidays and feeling quite sad to have finished my first ever cruise. I was a bit paranoid as I have always been quick to feel motion sickness, but I was pleasantly surprised that I was ok, albeit with some pretty strong anti-sickness medication! In this episode I am speaking with Andi, who was diagnosed with Parkinsons . She shares how the condition has altered her life and the impact that having income protection has had over the past couple of years. The key takeaways: Andi shares the different symptoms that she started to experience when she was diagnosed with Parkinsons, things that are not what many would typically expect of the condition and that some of her symptoms were masked by HRT and attributed to menopause Andi talks about how she has adapted her life over time, to be able to carry on cycling, supporting Parkinsons UK and volunteering, whilst managing how her symptoms and tiredness changes each day Andi discusses how having an income protection policy enabled her to carry on working to some degree for as long as possible, and come to terms with the “bereavement” of her life pre Parkinsons We are getting back into the swing of things after the summer holidays and the kids going back to school, so keep an eye out for new episodes coming out for the rest of the year. I’m planning on a good mix of underwriting insights and industry commentary, so hopefully a nice range of CPD for you. 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 PlannerX .

July 23, 202633 min

Dementia

Hi, everybody, Alan is back with me and we are discussing arranging protection insurance for someone living with dementia. The very first thing that you need to do, in my opinion, is to consider the person as vulnerable, with partners and children being classed as potentially vulnerable. The next step is to check with your compliance and any other oversight, to determine what you are and are not allowed to advise on in this situation. Dementia will at some stage have a huge impact on a person and their loved ones and it’s important that you are keenly aware of the need to safeguard this person. Even if a lasting power of attorney is in place so that others can act on their behalf, you need to always go back to basics - what is the insurable need here? The key takeaways: 1 in 3 people will experience dementia There can potentially be underwritten life insurance options, but you are likely to see a term cap of 5 years Most life insurance options will either exclude pre-existing conditions for the length of the policy, or for an initial moratorium period I am now taking a break for summer of 2026. Three boys, 7 weeks of school holidays, wish me luck! I will see you in September. 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 PlannerX .

July 9, 20261 hr 5 min

THE Best Insurer

Hi, everybody, I changed my mind and I’ve not done a medical deep dive and instead focused upon who is the ultimate insurer. Sadly, there isn’t one. Our lives would be so much easier if there was… In this episode I have discussed the things that different insurers offer, that stand out to me. So this is my opinion, based upon my experience of when a client has explained their circumstances and I have gone ‘ooooh, Insurer X will be perfect’. I’m not going into underwriting or every single thing that makes an insurer unique, it’s just an overview of key parts of their products and services that make them a good choice for your client. The key takeaways: Key titbits of 19 insurers offering protection insurance in the UK There are a lot of insurers and most of them have developed at least one unique product, or service, to support a client niche Insights into different life insurance, critical illness and income protection products Alan will be back with me next time for a deep dive into a medical condition and how it’s underwritten for protection insurance. I keep saying that he will and then I get excited by another idea and put him off! We are always happy to take your suggestions on what to cover so please feel free to fire over any areas that you would like us to go into. 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 PlannerX .

June 25, 202650 min

Think Outside the Box

Hi, everybody, instead of doing a health deep dive, Alan had the great idea of doing an episode on being imaginative with client recommendations. There are lots of ways to build protection recommendations, a lot of the time it’s straightforward, but sometimes getting creative is necessary. I would like to make sure I’m clear that being creative must still be compliance approved! In this episode I am giving you insights into the following areas and some examples of the insurances that are set up this way. The key takeaways: Decreasing term insurance vs family income benefit Ways to address delays with GPs and medicals Splitting critical illness across multiple providers Joint Life Second Death vs Single Life policies Life of another cover for non-UK residents Layering income protection policies Insurance solutions for gift planning Alan will be back with me next time for a deep dive into a medical condition and how it’s underwritten for protection insurance. We are always happy to take your suggestions on what to cover so please feel free to fire over any areas that you would like us to go into. 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 PlannerX .

June 11, 202650 min

Underdisclosure

Hi, everybody, it’s the start of Season 12 and I’m focusing on underdisclosure in protection insurance. Also known as misrepresentation or non-disclosure, this is a situation that everyone wants to avoid. Underdisclosure might not change the terms of insurance, but, it can lead to prices or sum assureds changing, and in the worst case a policy being cancelled from inception. The key takeaways: Non-disclosure is seen as innocent, negligent or deliberate It can be tricky sometimes to remember everything in your medical history that the insurer wants to know, so accessing your medical records before applying for cover can be a big help Examples of insurance questions in protection insurance where we see underdisclosure Alan will be back with me next time for a deep dive into a medical condition and how it’s underwritten for protection insurance. We are always happy to take your suggestions on what to cover so please feel free to fire over any areas that you would like us to go into. 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 PlannerX .

May 28, 202634 min

Overdisclosure

Hi, everybody, we are on the last episode of Season 11 and I’m focusing on overdisclosure. There is a lot of discussion in our industry about underdisclosure or non-disclosure, but not a lot of focus is put on the times when people tell insurers too much. It is essential that you answer insurance applications truthfully and to the best of your knowledge, but you don’t need to volunteer information that the insurer doesn’t ask for. It’s one of the reasons why people can be a bit nervous about iGPRs as it does give the insurer a lot more information than they are generally asking for. Insurers are meant to ignore information that is not relevant to the questions that they ask, but that isn’t always the case. The key takeaways: The Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 means that consumers need to be careful to not misrepresent themselves to insurers, but also explicitly states that consumers do not need to volunteer information to insurers that isn’t asked for Insurance for commercial customers works differently as they do not have the protection of CIDRA 2012 Examples of insurance questions in protection insurance that can lead to both over and underdisclosure Do you have anything that you want me to cover in Season 12? I will be back soon with deep dives into underwriting and industry insights. 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 PlannerX .

May 14, 202631 min

Fatty Liver Disease

Hi, everybody, we have Alan back for the first time in a while and he is chatting to us about fatty liver disease . The options for life insurance , critical illness cover and income protection can vary quite a bit, depending upon the cause of the fatty liver and the stage that it is at. The good news is that the liver has a brilliant capacity to heal itself, so there can often be options for insurance. Alcohol consumption will be a key factor in the options for your clients. Where the fatty liver disease is caused by alcohol consumption, it’s very likely that mainstream providers in the UK will not offer insurance if the person is still drinking. You can develop a fatty liver for different reasons and in these cases you don’t necessarily have to be teetotal, but underwriters will be cautious if alcohol is still had regularly or at a higher level. The key takeaways: It is estimated that at least 1 in 5 people have fatty liver disease and that 31 people pass each day in the UK, due to liver disease The questions you need to ask clients to be able to do underwriting research Two case studies of arranging life insurance for people with fatty liver disease Thank you for listening, it’s nice to be getting back to normal with the podcast and other areas. I am not completely sure what I am going to cover in the next episode, I shall see what takes my fancy in the next two weeks! 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 PlannerX .

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