‘98% of customers believe it’s reasonable’

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There’s a great deal of logic – and benefit – to brokers discussing financial protection with their clients. Huy Truong, CEO of ALI Group, shares his tips on doing it well

FIRMLY BELIEVING that a broker’s responsibility goes beyond helping clients find the right loan is what drives ALI Group, says CEO Huy Truong. “It’s important brokers take a few minutes to talk to their clients about the risks associated with having a large debt and how they might protect themselves against this risk,” he says. Unlike lenders mortgage insurance, which protects the lender, ALI Group’s My Protection Plan is designed to pay the mortgage holder in the event that they are impacted by trauma, a specified injury, death or terminal illness. Truong says mitigating the risks that injury, illness or even death can have on a borrower’s ability to make the mortgage repayments is a conversation brokers are well placed to have. “Brokers are arranging a suitable home loan product, which will require servicing over 20 to 30 years. It makes sense that part of this discussion includes how [the client] would make the payments should something happen to them,” he says. Clients agree. A survey of ALI policyholders revealed that 98% found it was very or fairly reasonable that their brokers should offer them protection when they took out a mortgage. This is not surprising as a mortgage is often reflective of a life stage (marriage, starting a family, etc.) when consumers tend to purchase personal risk insurance.

ALI Group is a leading provider of loan and mortgage protection to Australian home and property buyers. Since 2003 it has protected more than 224,000 Australians with over $60bn in cover (current as at February 2022). ALI Group’s mission is to protect Australian home and property buyers from financial hardship. The company has a close affiliation with the mortgage broking industry – and more than 3,500 brokers nationwide are authorised to offer its products.

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“Our mission is to protect Australian home and property buyers from financial hardship. We’ve partnered with almost 3,500 mortgage brokers nationally, providing training, marketing, supervision and monitoring to help them confidently offer protection to their clients”

Huy Truong, ALI Group

Benefits for brokers Depending on where you are in your brokering career, Truong says becoming an authorised representative of ALI Group offers brokers benefits that target common pain points. “We find new brokers need cash flow as they begin their career. By adding a 10-minute conversation about financial protection to their time with a client, brokers can be looking at over $1,000 in income over the life of each policy they arrange. For a 10-minute discussion, this translates to over $6,000 per hour!” For more established brokers, generating extra cash flow is certainly attractive, but it's building loyalty that is perhaps the bigger benefit. “An experienced broker already has a home loan book full of clients. At this stage of their career, the bigger focus is on retaining customer loyalty. It’s not uncommon for borrowers to refinance directly with their bank. They may also move to a different broker, and the reason for this can be as simple as a friend casually mentioning they have a great broker, handing over their contact information, and that client moves on.” Truong says research shows that when a customer buys two or more financial products, they are three times more likely to remain loyal.

“A good broker can naturally bring the topic into the conversation, and it shows concern for the client as a whole – something many people appreciate,” he says. Becoming an authorised representative also provides access to the ALI Group business development team. With representatives in each state, the team work closely with brokers and aggregator partners across Australia, supporting them in adding real value to their businesses and helping them educate clients. Timely addition to a broker’s toolkit Truong says ALI Group has two exciting developments on the books for early 2022. “We have recently partnered with Dean Mannix, an internationally renowned sales coach, to produce a range of training videos for our representatives. These videos will cover topics from how a broker can seamlessly and naturally discuss personal risks through to getting an informed decision in a customer-centric way.” Secondly, ALI has introduced an everyday savings program to help customers tackle the increasing costs of living. A policyholder can typically save about $2,000 per year on their groceries and other living expenses. “We appreciate that while our authorised representatives can do a fantastic job educating clients on the importance of financial protection, for a financially strapped customer, taking out cover can realistically mean deciding between going without a necessity or paying their premium,” says Truong. “Given grocery shopping is particularly expensive, we're planning to offer our policyholders a 7.5% discount off the major supermarkets, where many programs offer 4% or less. This means policyholders who use our program can offset the premium costs with these savings, while having the benefit of coverage should the worst happen.”

What you can learn from ALI’s award-winning brokers ALI Group’s annual Client Protection Broker of the Year and Emerging Client Protection Broker of the Year awards do more than simply recognise those who have done exceptionally well. Truong says they set the standard for the industry. “It’s also worth noting 35 of the top 100 brokers at the MPA awards protect their clients with ALI,” he says. There are a number of qualities the top players have in common, he explains, the main one being that they excel at taking a customer-first, product-second approach. Take Queensland winner James Florance for example, who Truong says has won Broker of the Year in this state for the last few years. “James is excellent at considering the client’s total needs when it comes to buying a home. He is able to naturally bring the need for life and trauma insurance into the mortgage equation, helping the borrower recognise its importance and then providing an easy solution,” Truong says. Along a similar vein, winners Jaime Savory and Maxine Farmer both work with a lot of first home buyers, and for many of these clients it’s often their first experience of considering their risks to finances and lifestyle. Truong says putting the customer first in this scenario means it’s in their best interest to not only develop an understanding of the risks that may

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Huy Truong, ALI Group

ALI Group Broker of the Year winners 2021

VIC Jaime Savory TAS Simon Nesbit QLD James Florance NSW Olympia Andronicos SA/NT Matt Kantarias WA Maxine Farmer

Exploring the meaning of ‘reasonable scope’ – ALI Group, Susan Bell Research (August 2021)

“We’ve worked with our authorised representatives to protect over 220,000 clients and paid over $133m in claims over the past 18 years”

Huy Truong, ALI Group

ALI Group Emerging Broker of the Year winners 2021

VIC Maddison Fecondo TAS Olivia McFarlane QLD Nadine O’Rourke NSW Caryn McIlwain SA/NT Natalina Pearson WA Terry Ji

impact their ability to repay their mortgage, but also to consider the impact this may have on their future finances. “Obviously, it’s then important to be able to provide a solution, and our product is highly competitive and high-quality,” he says.

“We’ve worked with our authorised representatives to protect over 220,000 clients and paid over $133m in claims over the past 18 years”

Huy Truong, ALI Group

“We’ve worked with our authorised representatives to protect over 220,000 clients and paid over $133m in claims over the past 18 years”

Huy Truong, ALI Group

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