Uncertainty is pushing up sales of personal insurance - survey

In a survey of Personal Finance Society advisers carried out for the review, 63.2 per cent said health and protection were becoming more important in financial planning.

While the review revealed overall sales of individual long-term premium protection products had fallen by 15 per cent in the last eight years, 43.9 per cent of advisers said they expected to write more protection business in the next 12 months while 48.7 per cent expected to write the same amount.

Andy Couchman, a protection consultant and co-author of the review, said IFAs stood at a crossroads in the current climate.

He said: "Is protection the saviour for the struggling financial advice sector or is it just more doom and gloom and tough times ahead?"

When asked what the industry could do to help advisers sell more protection, improved service was deemed to be more important by intermediaries than extra training.

According to the survey, 83 per cent of advisers said they would give greater emphasis to protection if providers offered better and faster service, while only 50 per cent said they would give protection more attention if they were given more technical training.

A survey of the public for the review also revealed more people were thinking about their protection needs.

Almost a quarter (24 per cent) of respondents said protecting themselves and their family's income and health had become more of a priority for them since the recession started.