A financial research consultancy has enabled third party access to its protection comparison data in light of recent regulatory changes to the market.
Advisers can now access protection product analysis by the Financial & Technology Research Centre (F&TRC) and integrate it into their own portals, websites and adviser practice management systems.
The launch is designed to help advisers satisfy requirements under the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD) which came into effect on 1 October.
Under the directive, protection intermediaries can no longer compare products solely on a price basis but must provide a suitability assessment as part of the service.
Ian McKenna, founder of the F&TRC, said the regulation represented a significant enhancement to consumer protection.
He said: "By providing application programming interfaces (API) to our market-leading comparison of protection products, we can enable advisers and aggregators to deliver services that can meet the new, significantly higher, regulatory requirements."
Access via the API will also allow advisers to compare insurer offerings across eight products, including life protection, critical illness and income protection.
Mr McKenna said: "Firms can consume our extensive data and provide it in their own chosen user interface.
"This including the unparalleled analysis of critical illness plans produced by our independent medical plan, which tailors advice to the individual based on their age, gender and the length of the policy."
Peter Chadborn, director and adviser at Plan Money, said: "It is a shame that it took regulation to ensure consumers are encouraged to think beyond just price when considering protection provision. Good advice and guidance has ensured this has always been the case.
"Technology should be a great enhancer in this regard so it is good to see the likes of F&TRC taking initiatives to assist advisers and enable better informed consumers."
Earlier this month, research found four out of 10 advisers and mortgage brokers selling protection insurance felt they had not been prepared for the IDD deadline.
rachel.addison@ft.com
