Caring responsibilities among most common customer vulnerabilities, MorganAsh data reveals

New vulnerable customer data from the MorganAsh Resilience System (MARS) has revealed that caring responsibilities are one of the most common life events experienced by consumers.

Support services provider MorganAsh analysed data from multiple companies across financial services sectors, including credit, debt, mortgage and financial advice, insurance and building societies. It found that the most frequently reported life events among vulnerable customers are bereavement, divorce/separation, and caring responsibilities – including those for elderly parents and for children.

Around 9% of females and 7% of males have highlighted the challenges of caring responsibilities, mirroring reported national statistics for the provision of care. In its State of Caring report, Carers UK estimates that as many as one in five in the UK are providing care. It also highlights not just the financial implications of being a carer, but the poorer health outcomes experienced by a high proportion of carers.

The findings from MorganAsh come as the latest FCA Financial Lives survey reveals that 49% of adults are dealing with one or more characteristic of vulnerability. The same survey found that around one in ten adults (4.8m) are in poor health, with 58% of this group experiencing difficulty when interacting with providers or managing their finances.

The MARS data also found that the most common health-related vulnerabilities include alcohol dependency, diabetes, learning difficulties, mobility issues, and hearing impairments – with expected increases in prevalence among older age groups.

Andrew Gething, managing director of MorganAsh, said: “When considering how to manage customer vulnerability, conversation often focuses on visible conditions such as blindless, financial distress or consumer understanding. Life events such as divorce or separation and bereavement were always likely to be at the top, but we did not expect to find carer issues and potential financial coercion so high.

“With clear challenges around financial resilience and poor health – particularly for unpaid carers – we need to be building a complete picture around all our clients to have the best chance of mitigating the difficulties they face and understanding the outcomes for key groups, such as carers. We cannot do this with robust data, which requires consistent assessment and the right processes and technology.”

Johnny Timpson OBE, an advocate for UK carers and chairman of MorganAsh, adds: “The DWP has many questions to answer when you consider the appalling scandal surrounding carers allowance. Not only are more people losing this important financial lifeline, many are falling into negative budgets, as a broken system relies on overworked and overstretched carers to self-report when they have overclaimed. In short, carers are under immense pressure and it's absolutely critical that financial services steps up where Government continues to fall short.

“With the right assessment discovering the right information, financial services firms can provide the right recommendations and support, as well intervene early to determine if needs have changed or anything is different. There’s no question that being a carer is a major life event that is hugely common – it can come at any time of life and be for extended periods. We need to be aware of this – and understand the implications of this – to ensure that our unsung heroes receive the service and support they need.”  

MorganAsh provides a service to assist financial services companies to help their customers with care issues. The service is an optional extra to the MARS customer vulnerability system and helps consumers navigate the complexities of care. It is managed by experienced nurses, who take the burden from individuals and provide both empathy and practical advice to help find the most suitable care for elderly family members. The Care Navigator service is promoted by LV= to all firms using LV= products.

Andrew adds: “We launched our Care Navigator service some years ago in response to financial firms becoming bogged down with dealing with their customers’ care issues. Consumer Duty has a bought this to the forefront and, although it may not be a vulnerability firms have to mitigate, assisting a customer with care for a parent or family member has to be one of the most appreciated services we can provide.”

MorganAsh is a specialist in Consumer Duty and customer vulnerability. The firm launched its award-winning MARS platform to help firms understand and monitor vulnerable customers and deliver good outcomes – as required by Consumer Duty. It is in use across financial services and the utilities sector, enabling businesses to adopt a consistent approach to identifying vulnerable characteristics and generate an objective Resilience Rating – much like a credit score.