What’s next for accessibility?
A number of other Workstreams are involved in the whole access to insurance programme, which in total includes around 120 people from all sectors of group and individual protection.
The Professionalism Workstream, chaired by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), is focused on improving standards in the industry.
Part of its remit involves encouraging insurers, reinsurers and advisory firms to sign up to the DWP’s Disability Confident programme – the first step to becoming a disability friendly employer.
“Government is making asks of us in terms of supporting its targets to more people with disabilities – seen or unseen – into employment,” says Mr Timpson.
“We need to make asks of them to help us promote the uptake of protection insurance in the way it did for pensions, but we can only do that when we’re walking the talk.”
The Workplace Workstream, chaired by Ron Wheatcroft of Swiss Re and Katherine Moxham of industry body Group Risk Development (GRiD), is focused on making group IP more accessible.
This workstream has already responded to a couple of government green papers, published last year and focused on absence management and preventative interventions.
These papers seemed preoccupied with occupational health only as a solution to helping people get back to – and stay in – work.
The workstream is endeavouring to highlight to government that group risk might be better placed to help in many cases.
Meanwhile, the Charity and Consumer Reference Group forms part of all the workstreams, providing a body that can be consulted on the right thing to do.
It consists of around 30 disability and health charities, the Money and Pensions Service and Citizens Advice.
Mr Timpson explains that he is now two years in to his three year tenure with the cabinet office and he is a man on a mission.
“My mission by the end of this year is to make accessibility something that everyone discusses. Rather than there just being me as an ‘official’ disability champion, I hope there’ll be hundreds of disability champions.
“I want the workstreams to be enduring. Changes now must be effective for the longer term; therefore, it has to be owned by a trade body going forward.
"My overriding message to the industry is: please embrace the Access Hierarchy.
"In other words, if your client has an unmet need then address it. If this doesn’t fall within your area of competence or appetite, then put a relationship in place with a protection specialist adviser.
