The Protection Distributors Group has secured a number of sponsors, including Protection Guru and CIExpert, as it moves to increase its reach and strengthen its governance.
The not-for-profit organisation said the sponsorship income will help keep membership fees affordable for protection firms.
The organisation, which was established in 2016 and aims to help consumers find the protection they need by encouraging better outcomes from providers and intermediaries, currently has 23 firm members.
The sponsorship funding will also be used to fund the PDG executive, and support the organisation’s initiatives that aim to have a positive impact on consumers who purchase protection products.
The other sponsors are iPipeline, Iress, NMG Consulting, Square Health and UnderwriteMe.
“These businesses, in different ways, support adviser activity in quoting, analysing, underwriting and placing protection into the UK market, and have all agreed with the PDG values in working towards delivering better consumer outcomes,” PDG said in a statement.
PDG’s chairperson, Neil McCarthy commented: “As the PDG grows we want to use the funding to better support the operational side so we can continue to develop and deliver actions on a number of initiatives.”
“We have successfully created a Claims Charter outlining what we feel is an industry wide minimum best practice to help clients, which has been adopted by most insurers, as well as a funeral payment pledge, and are working on a number of initiatives to improve standards in policy retention processes and distribution transparency.”
Adding to this, Protection Guru’s founder, Ian McKenna said there has been a “very strong alignment” between Protection Guru and PDG since the beginning.
“Both organisations are committed to really growing the protection market, not by increasing the market share of individual insurers but by getting more families and businesses taking cover.
"We are delighted to be able to provide support so they can continue to expand their support for the market and consumers.”
Last summer, a number of major insurers were snubbed by PDG after failing to meet ‘best practice’ criteria for how they pay customers for life insurance claims.
jane.matthews@ft.com
