At LifeSearch, we're committed to making life insurance advice accessible and inclusive for everyone, especially those who may need a little extra help. Vulnerability can affect any one of us, at any stage of life, and recognising that is at the heart of how we work. That’s why we have a dedicated Vulnerable Customer Specialist, Samantha Warner, who leads our efforts to ensure that vulnerable customers are treated with empathy and understanding. In this expert spotlight, we’ll learn more about Samantha’s work and how LifeSearch is setting standards in customer care.
Samantha’s Role at LifeSearch
As LifeSearch's Vulnerable Customer Specialist, Samantha plays a vital role in ensuring that customers who need additional support receive the care, understanding and tailored service they deserve. Her role is built around three key pillars:
- Policy Development and Oversight - Samantha leads the review and improvement of LifeSearch’s Vulnerable Customer and Safeguarding Policy, ensuring it stays relevant, practical and aligned with regulations. She works to embed these policies across the business in a meaningful way.
- Process Improvement Across the Business - Supporting vulnerable customers is everyone’s responsibility. Samantha helps both customer and non-customer facing teams improve internal processes to ensure inclusive, consistent practices are built in from the start, not added later.
- Training and Empowerment - Working closely with teams across the business, Samantha builds their confidence and skills to better support vulnerable customers. Through tailored, role-specific training, she helps every team member understand how they can make a real difference.
Above all, Samantha is driven by a commitment to delivering fair, inclusive and accessible experiences, fully aligned with Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) guidelines on good outcomes for vulnerable customers.
How We Identify a Vulnerable Customer
There’s no single checklist or script that will reveal a vulnerable customer. Identifying vulnerability is about listening carefully and being sensitive to what’s said, and sometimes even what isn’t being said.
"Many customers won’t describe themselves as ‘vulnerable’, and they certainly don’t want to be labelled that way. Often, they won’t disclose personal challenges unless they feel safe, respected and listened to. That’s why it’s so important, especially for customer-facing teams, to build a supportive, judgement-free environment where individuals feel comfortable sharing their circumstances.”
"You’re not always going to get a clear answer or a formal disclosure, but people will give you little clues, maybe a passing comment about something they’re struggling with, or a tone in their voice. You have to be present and tuned in to pick up on those things.”
A big part of this is recognising that vulnerability isn't just about health. The FCA outlines four key drivers of vulnerability:
- Health – physical or mental conditions
- Life Events – such as bereavement or relationship breakdown
- Resilience – financial or emotional capacity to cope with stress
- Capability – low confidence or limited understanding of financial matters
While health issues may naturally come up in conversations around life insurance, it’s vital not to overlook the other categories. Samantha’s role involves educating teams to recognise all forms of vulnerability and understand how each can impact a customer’s ability to engage with our services.
Another key practice LifeSearch is working towards is the FCA’s ‘Tell Us Once’ approach, making sure that when a customer shares something significant, like a recent bereavement, it’s handled with care and not repeated unnecessarily.
"Imagine someone has just lost a partner and shared that with us. If we don’t capture that properly, they could be asked about it again by someone else. That’s not just frustrating, it can be deeply upsetting.”
Samantha’s Journey into Vulnerable Customer Advocacy
She now brings that experience to LifeSearch, helping to shape policies and training that makes every customer feel listened to, respected and confident in their choices.
"For me, this work is about more than just compliance, it’s about purpose. I’m passionate about creating equal access to services, making sure everyone is treated with dignity and respect, and always looking for ways we can do better. It’s about empowering teams across the business to feel confident, close knowledge gaps and ensure vulnerable customers are properly supported at every stage.”
- View Samantha's LinkedIn profile: Samantha Warner LinkedIn
Vulnerable Customer Champions
"I may be one person, but with a wider network of people who care deeply and want to share their knowledge, we can really drive the message forward together.”
Vulnerability and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
"The FCA are increasingly looking at businesses through a ‘vulnerability lens’, which means firms need to be prepared to demonstrate ongoing progress in how they support vulnerable customers. It’s not enough to ignore or overlook vulnerability. If the FCA sees genuine effort and progress, that’s what matters. But disregarding these issues is where problems arise.”
For Samantha, this regulatory pressure is a positive force - encouraging continuous improvement rather than just compliance. We want vulnerable consumers to experience outcomes as good as other consumers and to get consistently fair treatment across the sectors we regulate.
Keeping Up with Industry Thinking
To do this, Samantha regularly attends webinars, conferences and training courses, and keeps a close eye on industry-leading organisations such as the Money Advice Trust. One of her go-to resources is their Vulnerability Matters podcast, which features monthly episodes on topics like inclusive design, care-led thinking, and how businesses can improve outcomes for customers through empathy and accessibility.
She added:
"I make time to listen to these resources regularly, often on the way to work. It helps put me in the right mindset and gives me practical ideas I can apply straight away.”
Why This Work Matters to Samantha
"I absolutely love my job. It’s varied, it has purpose, and it allows me to be a voice for vulnerable customers who might otherwise struggle to access support.”
What drives her is the chance to make a real difference, ensuring services are inclusive, compassionate and accessible to everyone.
"At LifeSearch, care and empathy are at the heart of what we do. We’re not just selling a product - we’re helping people prepare for life’s most difficult moments. That’s why it matters so much.”
Supporting You at Every Stage
At LifeSearch, our purpose is simple: to protect people properly at every stage of life’s journey, whatever that journey looks like. Samantha’s work, and the commitment of our Vulnerable Customer Champions, is just one of the ways we put that purpose into practice.
If you’d like to understand your protection options or simply talk through your circumstances with someone who’ll listen, our advisers are here to help. We offer fee-free, friendly advice tailored to your needs. Speak to an adviser today to start your journey.
