Critical illness (CI) sales scripts are ready for implementation by the end of the year following approval from the FSA and Association of British Insurers (ABI).
The scripts will be voluntary but many organisations are understood to be likely to recommend them as best practice.
It followed an FSA investigation which found oral sales of CI were consistently failing to meet acceptable sales standards.
The project was warmly welcomed at the COVER Forum last week, where some suggested a similar approach for income protection (IP) could help intermediaries feel more comfortable recommending that product.
The CI scripts will be based on a guideline and checklist approach, rather than the rigid word-by-word document some advisers had feared.
Nick Kirwan, assistant director of protection at the ABI, said the content of the final edition was reached following several revisions and in-depth discussion with the industry.
"It's a checklist that needs to be disclosed orally to customers," he said.
"It's not really a script because it's not a rigid thing as advisers have to adapt it to the product being sold. I hope the industry does get behind it because we don't want the FSA to do a review in two year's time and say things have not improved.
"This is our chance to show that we can improve things ourselves," he added.
Kirwan confirmed he hopes the scripts will be fully in place by the New Year.
Roy McLoughlin, senior partner at Master Adviser, says the scripts are a very good idea in principal and could help new entrants to protection after the RDR.
"I'm hoping it will include examples of where CI doesn't pay out and that there are products that will instead," he said.
"There are obviously lots of people who might have dipped their toes in IP or CI and, with the RDR coming, are they going to start looking at selling protection more? Anything that helps them do that should be applauded.
"And it could be used for IP as there are lots of people who may have forgotten how to sell that."
The ABI is co-ordinating the industry-wide scheme with the backing of many other bodies, including AIFA, BIBA and the FSA in an attempt to head off a potential payment protection insurance (PPI) style clampdown by the regulator.
Protection adviser firm Lifesearch was consulted on the format of the scripts.
