Chat With Nick McGowan – Founder at Life Broker: Lion Life Insurance

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With its roots as a traditional broker business, the digital-first web offering Lion Life insurance came online in 2012 and has been helping Irish, Northern Irish and an increasing number of UK consumers entering the Irish market, post-Brexit, to find the very best life insurance, mortgage protection, income protection and serious illness cover online.

Priding itself on friendly, personalised service and an unbeatable reputation for providing fast and affordable quotes online within minutes from the big 5 insurers.

Specialists in getting life cover for those suffering from a new or pre-existing health condition, Lion is fast becoming synonymous with protecting what matters most in life on both sides of the Irish channel.

 

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How did you come up with the idea for Lion?

 

“As a traditional high street general insurance broker, we noticed our customers ‘going online’ for their car and home insurance quotes.

We gambled that it wouldn’t be long before they were comfortable seeking out life insurance online quote too. Hence LION (‘Life Insurance ONline’) was born.”

How has Brexit impacted on your business?

 

“We can no longer insure customers with insurers based in the UK. Fortunately, our main providers were quick to set up bases in Ireland and issue policies locally.”

 

How has Lion evolved during the pandemic?

 

“The pandemic got a lot of people thinking about their own mortality so life insurance moved to the top of many to-do lists.

The traditional triggers for life insurance are buying a house or having a baby but since COVID, we have had to evolve to serve a new stream of anxious clients who have realised they are just one unforeseen event away from needing that policy.”

What can we hope to see from Lion in the future?

 

“Financial services are in a state of flux. The traditional bank channel is struggling and branches are closing.

Customers are moving online for their financial advice from protection to pension and investments.

We have gained a strong foothold in the protection space and are at an advanced stage of launching our online self-service pension offering.”