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Coran Stubbington on People-Focused Finance

By Coran Stubbington

Protection Consultant at Pangea Life

With her affable personality, love of networking, and enthusiasm for helping others, Coran Stubbington is a true people person bringing a refreshing energy to the financial sector in which she works.

Having spent 20 years in retail banking, running her first branch by the age of 21, and culminating as Director in West London for Santander, Coran joined financial protection specialists Pangea Life a year ago as a Protection Consultant.

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What insurance services do you specialise in at Pangea Life?

At Pangea Life, I specialise in various life insurance policies to protect businesses, their owners and the employees within them. There are three main areas that a I look at:

De-risking businesses – by providing Shareholder Cover, where business owners can make sure, should one of them die, that the business continues as they would want it to. Keyperson gives the business a cash injection should anyone who is pivotal to the business become critically ill or passes away, which reduces the risk the business would face without them.

Tax efficient life insurance- helping business owners protect themselves pre profit, which gives them peace of mind their loved ones are cared for in the event of their death.

Attract and retain employees by offering Group Policies, like Group Income Protection which enables businesses to pay their employees for longer in the event of long-term illness. We all know how hard it is to get good talent and trust me, employees are looking for benefits these days in line with salary expectations.

Who are the clients that you work with?

I work with a lot of business owners – I go through a disaster plan with them, find out where their risks are, and then how I might be able to help them. I work with large owner managed businesses to one-man bands.

I think the best thing about working with business owners, is when I’m able to protect their business with insurance policies they were unaware existed. It’s amazing how a simple life insurance policy is able to protect the business and its future should anything happen to a shareholder or key member of staff.

Countless times I’ve seen shareholders that didn’t realise they were able to insure their shares…for me it’s such a simple a solution but for them, you don’t know what you don’t know.

I like to work locally, getting out seeing my clients face to face and fully understanding their business and what makes it ‘tick’. From here I’m really able to assist and provide solutions, while also making sure we’re being cost conscious.

I love the little smile on clients faces when I say they can put their personal life insurance through the company and not pay any tax on it – it’s like they’ve just had a little win!

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How do you stay ahead of the game in such a changeable market?

Insurance companies are forever changing their policies. That’s why it’s important to use a broker like me because we do keep ahead of the game. You can go online and get a policy but you’re never going to know whether it’s exactly right for you and who reads the small print?

I find out all about you, visit the premises, speak with the staff, and get a real feel for the business. I will then use my knowledge to make sure that we find the right policy for their situation.

What’s one area of insurance that people don’t think about as much as they should?

The first area that comes to mind is protecting the shares within the business. Should a business partner pass away, how would you raise the funds to buy the shares..? With shareholder protection we are able to insure the value of the shares, allowing the surviving shareholders to purchase the shares from the deceased estate.

I’m aware this is only useful if there is more than one shareholder, so, I would say the main area that gets overlooked is income protection. This can be done both within a business and personally to ensure you have an income, while you’re unable to work. Furlough highlighted this need throughout covid, providing a lifeline to those unable to work.

"People insure their cars, their houses, and their pets, but they forget to insure themselves."

Coran Stubbington - Protection Consultant at Pangea Life

What’s one piece of advice that you always give to your clients?

It may be morbid, but I make the experience as enjoyable as I can. Taking the time to ensure you’re protected, will be a weight off your shoulders and will help those around you should the worst happen.

It’s on everyone’s to-do list, however, we can always find a reason to not to do it, be it cost, health questions or lifestyle choices, but once it is done, its done. I call you annually for a review to make sure nothing has changed and generally you can forget you have it until you need.

How are you harnessing technology in the delivery of your services?

Steve, the owner of Pangea Life, and I are both really interested in AI and trying to get ahead of that game.

We’re working on a project to see how we can use AI and how AI is going to affect us because ultimately, it’s never going to be as good as humans but there are people out there that will take that choice. It is going to be something that’s both a risk and an opportunity to our business so we’re trying to embrace that process. The risk is that’s it’s easy to get online (don’t get me wrong something is better than nothing), but the education around the policies still falls short, meaning people aren’t fully aware of what they’re covered for.

"I always try to make sure that if I can help someone, I do. I think we could all learn from being a bit more inclusive in our outlook."

Coran Stubbington - Protection Consultant at Pangea Life

What do you enjoy the most about what you do?

I love networking; I love meeting new people and finding out about people’s needs. I love to really understand an individual person to make sure that what I’m doing for them is the right thing. I’m a real people-focused person.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?

I’ve got twins who are 12, although my daughter thinks she’s 14. I’m really sociable; I have a big network of friends. I have a passion for nice cars and my parents live in Spain, so I spend a lot of my time flying out to see them.

Do you have any personal philosophies that you live by?

I think you get out of life what you put in. A positive, helpful, can-do attitude makes yours and everyone around you life’s easier and more pleasurable. I work hard, but also make sure my work/life balance is good and also my mum/Coran balance is good as well.

What’s your favourite podcast?

I enjoy listening to The Confidence Podcast by Trish Blackwell. It’s not just about confidence, there’s always something in there that you get from either a coaching point of view or just a life little nugget that you can take forward. It’s only half an hour, it goes out every Tuesday, and I then think about what I’ve heard for the rest of the week.

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