Peter Le Beau has announced he will retire at the end of the year.
One of the best-known consultants in the life and health insurance sector, Mr Le Beau began his career at British and European and in 1981 moved to Swiss Re where he was initially head of underwriting and later became head of UK marketing.
Mr Le Beau left in 2001 to set up an independent consultancy, Le Beau Visage, which focused on differentiation in the protection sector.
In 2005 he formed Protection Review with Andy Couchman; set up the strategic discussion group called The-Net-Work, and began the Income Protection Task Force with Clive Waller to promote a greater awareness of the values of income protection.
Mr Le Beau has also held several non-executive director roles over the years and was awarded the MBE for services to insurance in June 2009.
Mr Le Beau said: "I've decided that now is the time to step away from the industry. I think there is a need for fresh voices and new leaders with energy and new ideas.
“Over the next few months I will be transitioning out of a range of activities, but I will still be involved with some consultancy work and will continue to run The-Net-Work.
“I've had an incredibly satisfying career and will have been involved in the industry for almost 50 years when I retire."
He has put financial protection on the map and has been a great cheerleader for the industry.Jeff PrestridgeCommenting on Mr Le Beau's career, LifeSearch chief executive Tom Baigrie, said: "Peter has been a force for good in the world of protection for decades.
“He is the most caring and collegiate of men, a genuine professional with his heart in the right place and a huge streak of altruism running right through him.
“Though he truly deserves his retirement he will be sorely missed. I first met him in 2004 at a conference he organised to improve what the industry did for consumers.
“That has been his lifelong professional purpose and he has worked tirelessly over the years to encourage insurers to do things better. His polite persistence has served the protection consumer and this our market, in a way no-one else has equalled.
“The establishment of the Income Protection Task Force and then the Seven Families initiative has been key to the recent growth of income protection sales."
Jeff Prestridge, personal finance editor of the Mail on Sunday and Financial Adviser columnist, said: “He has put financial protection on the map and has been a great cheerleader for the industry without ever forgetting that the consumer must come first.”
As Mr Le Beau phases his retirement, Protection Review will continue with Kevin Carr, Andy Couchman, Roger Edwards, Jo Miller and Frances Delhoy managing the business as usual.
Mr Le Beau will continue to contribute ideas and attend events at his leisure.
The Income Protection Task Force will continue to be managed for the rest of the year by Mr Le Beau and the existing executive committee, which consists of Dave Heeney, Richard Walsh, Julie Hopkins, Roy McLoughlin, Kevin Carr and John Gillman.
Plans for the future of the task force will be announced in due course.
Le Beau Visage and all non-executive director roles will cease before the end of 2017 although a precise retirement date for Mr Le Beau's retirement as FINEOS chairman has not been determined.
Mr Le Beau will continue to run The-Net-Work unchanged with Ms Delhoy.
emma.hughes@ft.com