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Smaller companies can stand out by taking greater care of their customers, according to Martin Walker, new business and operation manager for Wesleyan Assurance Society.

Mr Walker said the society remained committed to high standards of personalised customer care in spite of adding to its technology proposition, saying this was an area where the smaller business could shine.

He said: "We are only small but we do pride ourselves on offering excellent service to all our clients. As a society, our aim is to demonstrate professionalism when dealing with our customers in their niche markets.

"Customer service is everything to us and we have confidence that it will help serve our customers better. The experience is very important and collecting individual medical histories is only one aspect of this."

Meanwhile, Mr Walker confirmed Wesleyan had awarded its tele-interviewing contract to MorganAsh and was confidence it would benefit customers.

Alistair Blyth, IFA for Edinburgh-based AB1 Financial Planning, said smaller companies differentiated themselves by their service standards as they did not rely on anonymous call centres.

He said: "Technology, if used appropriately, is always a bonus to any firm however societies such as these are very niche and appeal to a particular sector.

"As an adviser they are very friendly companies to work with and it's important to not forget the importance of the personal touch."