York-based business owner, Rob Brooks, has been shortlisted in the 2024 UK Health and Protection Awards.
Life insurance expert Rob said he is delighted to be recognised in the category of Best UK Protection Adviser: “I was thrilled to hear that we’d been shortlisted for such a prestigious award,” said Rob, “and I am grateful to the UK Health and Protection Awards for sharing this accolade with us. It’s a real honour.”
The UK Health and Protection Awards exist to bring together the health and protection insurance community to celebrate the best examples of excellence and innovation in the sector; and recognise and reward the best achievements across the previous 12 months. The awards are considered one of the most prestigious in the industry and provide companies and individuals with the opportunity to showcase best practice. Sponsors for 2024 include AXA Health and Bupa.
Rob Brooks set up his company, Death & Disease, in 2007 after identifying a gap in the market for a personalised, bespoke service in life and medical protection. The company specialises in sourcing life and illness protection and private medical insurance for families and businesses. The company has grown to a team of three over the last few years and Rob plans to take on more advisers in 2025.
“Life and illness protection have typically been seen as add-ons to products such as mortgages or business loans,” says Rob, “whereas in fact they are some of the most important protection policies you can have. They deal with the events in life that typically cause the most amount of distress, disruption and expense and having them in place at these important moments can make all the difference to families and businesses at an incredibly difficult time. I wanted to help clients get the right protection for them so that they had peace of mind. That’s why we only advise on protection and nothing else.”
Death & Disease has become known in the Yorkshire region for its straightforward approach, epitomised by the company’s “brand ambassador,” Frank, a skeleton who features in much of the firm’s branding and marketing.
“Frank is a really important part of Death & Disease,” says Rob. “The reality is that none of us really want to spend too much time thinking about death or the awful things that might happen to us and our loved ones along the way. This can lead to vital protection not being put in place simply because people don’t want to think about it. Unfortunately, this makes families and businesses vulnerable when they are most in need. We don’t try to gloss over that, and we use Frank to remind people in a safe and humorous way that life is finite and unexpected challenges can happen.”
Rob says that Death & Disease’s highly bespoke service means they have often been able to secure cover for clients who have been unable to find protection elsewhere. For example, one recent client had undergone a kidney transplant, while another had a stage 4 cancer diagnosis. They also find protection for clients who are engaging in dangerous sports, such as cave diving.
“It’s a real privilege to be able to provide people with exactly what they need, when they need it,” says Rob. “It’s like fitting the last piece of the jigsaw together so they can get on with their lives and I love the satisfaction that providing this help brings.”
