Check Financial

Protection insurance advice from Watford for the whole UK market

Check Financial is a protection insurance advisory business registered in England and operating from a registered office in Watford, Hertfordshire. It presents itself as whole of market, meaning it is not tied to any single insurer, and as an appointed representative of Capital Protect Ltd, a firm authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The company states that its guidance and advice fall under the UK regulatory regime and are aimed at consumers based in the UK.

Its stated focus is protection rather than general insurance: life cover, income protection, critical illness cover and business protection. The firm positions itself around cases it describes as complex, including self-employed clients, people with pre-existing medical conditions and anyone who has previously been declined or offered higher terms by another insurer.

What the firm advises on

The site organises its offer around the situations protection is meant to address, and pairs each with the type of policy usually involved:

• Loss of income through illness or injury, where the firm points to income protection and works out how long a client could manage before cover would need to bridge the gap.
• Serious illness, where the cost of treatment, time off work and adapting daily life is framed around a lump sum, typically critical illness cover.
• Death, where the aim is for dependants to keep the home without a mortgage, usually through life cover.
• Illness or death of an owner or key person in a business, addressed through business protection.

Beyond new policies, the firm also covers reviewing existing cover and handling enquiries from clients who have been turned down before. Life cover for a mortgage, protecting income and business cover are listed among the common starting points.

How the advice process is described

Check Financial outlines a three-stage process. It begins with a conversation of around fifteen minutes covering the client's mortgage, family, work and health, with no forms required beforehand. The second stage is a written explanation of what is recommended, what it costs, what is excluded and why that option was chosen over alternatives. The third stage covers dealing with the insurer and underwriting, keeping the client updated and an annual check that the cover still fits.

The firm says clients are assigned the same named adviser throughout, reachable by phone, email or an app, and that recommendations are explained in plain English. It also states that it supports clients through the claims process at no extra cost.

Complex medical histories and previous declines

A recurring theme in the material is the treatment of applications that automated or online processes have rejected. The firm argues that a decline by one insurer, particularly through an online comparison site, does not make someone uninsurable, and that a specialist adviser can review the full picture and approach insurers more likely to offer cover. It notes that insurers may request a GP report for larger amounts of cover or more complex medical histories, always with the client's written consent.

On self-employment, the firm states that income protection is available to self-employed people and describes it as arguably more important for them, since there is no employer sick pay to fall back on. Variable income, it says, is not a barrier to cover.

Case examples published by the firm

The site presents anonymised scenarios to illustrate its approach, stating that every personal detail has been changed:

• A client with a history of anxiety and antidepressants who had been declined twice online was placed with £300,000 of life cover at standard rates and no exclusions.
• A sole trader with variable income obtained own occupation income protection based on two years of accounts.
• A client several years in remission from cancer secured life cover for the mortgage and family after a pre-application enquiry was made first.

The team

Oliver Jordan is named as founder and protection adviser, with ten years in financial services and a stated commitment to advice standards and client care. Megan Archer is operations director, with more than ten years in the sector, overseeing the client journey from start to finish. Alex Bennett is a protection adviser working across a range of protection needs.

Client feedback and published resources

The site displays a five-star rating described as Excellent on Trustpilot, with 21 reviews at the time of writing this profile, and quotes individual clients on their experience of the process. It also maintains a knowledge hub with articles on topics such as how much life insurance is needed, term versus whole of life cover, being previously declined, and life insurance with a pre-existing condition, alongside a section of 18 frequently asked questions.