On the show this week, I talk to Andy Couchman, co-founder of Protection Review.
We chat about how the Protection Review Conference, Dinner and Awards has grown to become one of the premiere financial services events of the year and the new “I Mark” which seeks to recognise true innovation.
Welcome to episode 197 of the Marketing and Finance Podcast.
What you’ll hear about in this episode
- How Andy started Protection Review with another financial services luminary, Peter Le Beau
- The process Andy goes through to write product reviews and how he scores them
- What innovation really means in financial services
- The reasoning behind the launch of the I Mark
- What companies will have to do to receive the I Mark.
Who is Andy Couchman?
Andy started his career in product marketing roles in various large UK financial services companies.
After leaving corporate life he made a success writing about financial services topics. Together with Peter Le Beau he started Protection Review back in 2003. What started as a paper publication and an annual dinner has turned into a prestigious annual Conference, Dinner and Awards event and a popular website.
Although he has retired from the day to day running of Protection Review, Andy still writes the reviews published each month.
Summary of our chat
In his reviews Andy always remembers that teams of people will have worked hard on launching the product or service he is reviewing. They’ll be looking for the highest score possible. But over the years he’s developed a method of setting a benchmark for the products and services he’s reviewing.
He rarely gives a 10 out of 10. In fact this may only have happened a couple of times.
Until now, Andy has always acknowledged innovation in his reviews. Thinking back to the launch of Critical Illness Cover in 1986 he acknowledges that it was real innovation back then. However the current practice of adding new illnesses and conditions, whilst a good thing because it improves the product, is more evolution than innovation.
That’s why he’s please Protection Review is launching the “I Mark”. It will recognise and promote true innovation in the protection segment of UK financial services.
He’ll still mark his reviews on a scale of 1 to 10, but from now on he’ll also award the I Mark to products and services that offer something different.
Recommended business book
Andy likes Damon Hill’s Autobiography. The racing driver faced many mental health challenges over the years and Andy thinks this is sobering reading and reiterates how important it is for insurance companies to take care of people with similar issues rather than simply rejecting them for cover.
He also recommends Lucian Camp’s book about financial services marketing. Lucian was my first ever guest on the Marketing and Finance Podcast.
Links
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