I love a good rant don’t you?

People who don’t use their indicators, politicians who never answer questions or newspapers that misuse statistics, it’s calming to get things off your chest.

I found an interesting thread on an Internet discussion board called simply ‘The Rant Forum’. Here people pour their hearts out about the things that really annoy them.

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Shortly after, I attended a seminar where a motivational speaker encouraged us to look outside our own industries for inspiration on ways to innovate. He gave the example of a British airline taking inspiration from Disney.  Having trouble with its queuing systems they looked to a company specialising in herding thousands through its gates every year.

I thought it would be interesting to combine “Ranting Subjects” with this way of thinking differently about issues in our industry.

So, here are the four ‘things’ that I’ve ranted about recently. Mainly to my family.  And my suggestions on which lessons we could bring into the protection market:

People who think adding a jet engine-sized exhaust pipe on their clapped-out early 90s Vauxhall turns it into a dream car people will admire and drool over.

In the protection industry innovation often means adding little extras simply to create a perceived advantage over competitors. We’ve all added rare critical illness definitions to our products and continue to do so.

But do these add any customer value? Or do they see more complexity that puts them off?

What would make them interested? Simpler definitions? Are we in danger of the exhaust becoming bigger than the car?

People ‘forgetting’ to remove their coats and show their liquids at airport security – despite the signs they walk past telling them to do so – thus holding up everyone else.

In Financial Services, we drown ourselves in policy conditions, exclusions, and compliance blurb. The public lack understanding of the finer mechanics of protection products.

If people don’t read signs that are as tall as them why would they read pages full of “business jargon”?

Make Literature clear, short, snappy and easy to digest. Even so, some won’t understand or even read what we tell them.

How can we overcome this communication gap? Should we film video policies? What about a “policy podcast”?

Pre-recorded station announcements.

There is nothing more de-humanising than hearing a pre-recorded announcement or talking to an automatic phone answering service.

People want to deal with real people who a can meet their needs and not robots that stick to scripts. Protection needs a personal touch when we’re dealing with illness or death.

Is a soulless IVR what a grieving widow wants to hear?

Christmas getting earlier every year – I saw the first decorations in a department store this weekend – the middle of August.

Last year I went to a Christmas night on 12 November. Why? Because they left it too late to book and all the best venues had already been filled for December.

Poor planning not only interferes with your social plans, it can also cost you money as well. Plan ahead and you can get cheaper holidays. Take out life cover today,  not next year and you can save on your premium rates.

The App and Android Stores are full of planning tools. As well as birthdays and anniversaries perhaps they should include financial planning reminders.

And a final rant? Don’t get me started on people who use clichéd phrases like, “Thinking outside the box”.

Now it’s your turn:

What did you rant about last? Write it down and then think of a financial services solution. Then share it below in the comments or share it on social media. I’d be interested to hear your ideas inspired by ranting.