British Consumers Choose Non-Advised

Posted 1st June 2022 by Keely Marsango

Last updated on June 10th, 2022 at 05:06 pm

Since the UK insurance industry began in the 1700’s, those looking for level term life insurance would mostly seek the help of an advisor, a qualified professional who would take the time to listen to your personal circumstances and then tell you what they think you should do.

Now, for the first time ever, more people in the UK are choosing not to use advisory services (50.3%) than those who are.

The figures come from the Swiss Re Term & Health Watch Report 2022, showing the industry has passed the watershed.

“I think it’s a reflection of the trend towards people buying directly when they decide they want a product and that’s probably generational,” said Ron Wheatcroft, Technical Manager at the reinsurer Life and Health UK & Ireland, when asked about the findings by Health & Protection.

“There’s a generation that haven’t been born with the concept of an adviser that advises the family. That’s partly the role of the old direct salesforces which disappeared 20 years ago where they would probably have closer relationships. So I think to some extent it’s just reflecting natural buying preferences and just natural preferences that people have.”

It is important to note that the 50.3% non-advised figure is for level term life insurance only, whereas this considerably drops when other protection products are packaged together, such as policies with critical illness cover.

British consumers seem to be comfortable making their own decisions with the more easily understandable protection products such as level term life insurance, but shy away when there is complexity involved.

The report also showed that sales from insurance aggregator websites fell by 26.1%, with most people (71.2%) choosing to purchase their life insurance from brokers.

“As a non-advised life insurance broker, Protect Line helps consumers find the best protection policies for their individual needs, without telling anyone what they should do. There is a difference between guidance and advice, and the data from Swiss Re clearly shows that our service is what British consumers want.” says Chris Reed, Head of Business Development at Protect Line.