But this presents new dangers. Is the industry ready to advise on products that it is only just familiar with? As Roy Mcloughlin points out in this Special Report, one of the biggest challenges is persuading advisers that there is more to protection than selling life cover. There is a strong argument for saying that selling critical illness and income protection is more important than life cover, as one is far more likely to suffer a serious illness than die prematurely.

Another problem is that many people think they are covered through work policies - this is where an adviser is needed to give clients a dispassionate appraisal of their protection situation.

However, simply getting a client to take up a protection product may not be enough. A number of providers are making it far harder for new clients with pre-existing conditions to get full cover. As Sarah Fullaway argues, this is hardly fair as clients quite sensibly want to take out protection to cover themselves in case of being off work, but if a provider slaps on an exclusion for the condition they most fear, then what kind of service is the financial sector offering?

One answer may be to change underwriting, but clearly the insurance sector needs to adapt before it earns again the bad image it has tried so hard to shake off.

Melanie Tringham is features editor of Financial Adviser