Legal & General has launched a quarterly survey of IFA confidence levels in the protection industry....
Legal & General has launched a quarterly survey of IFA confidence levels in the protection industry.
Results show advisers believe sales are holding up well. The index tracks three key elements: current sales opportunities, future sales opportunities and type of product purchased.
The key findings from the first report are that nearly half of advisers (44%) said their current level of protection sales were as usual. Over half (52%) said there were 'some' opportunities to talk to people about protection, a further 18% said there were 'many' opportunities, while 61% of IFAs said it was no more difficult than normal to convert opportunities to sales.
Martin Noone, IFA sales director at L&G, said: "We are seeing a combination of skilled advisers targeting the right people with the right products at the right time. The recession has focused people's minds on what they have got to lose, which is where an IFA can come in with helping to provide peace of mind."
Roy McLoghlin, senior partner at Master Adviser, agreed that the market was buoyant, partly due to the prevailing mood in the country, leading people to assess their protection, and partly because advisers have changed their attitude to protection as mortgage markets withered.
However, he added: "People are assessing direct debits and perhaps cancelling. It's important to stay in touch with clients in terms of retained business."
Noone added: "What's interesting is that the more IFAs sell protection, the more positive they are about the market."
