Money guidance service hailed a success

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Promoting Protection focus reflected in Thoresen's report for the Treasury

The market has heralded the Thoresen review as a victory for the COVER Promoting Protection campaign.

The review, set out to raise awareness of financial products in the consumer market, reflects the focus of the campaign COVER launched in 2007.

Otto Thoresen, chief executive of Aegon, put the campaign initiatives into action by recommending a money guidance (MG) service in his report for the Treasury, which will provide information to consumers on a range of personal finance matters including protection.

Jonathan French, spokesperson for the Association of British Insurers, said Thoresen's MG service was a success for the campaign, saying it would promote protection. "Protection insurance should form an important part of anyone's financial planning. An effective generic financial advice service has great potential to help consumers make better decisions, including what the most appropriate protection products are for them," he said.

French added it was important the MG scheme focused on all income groups to ensure consumers have access to relevant financial information, including advice on protection products.

Lesley McPherson, head of media at Aegon, agreed it was a triumph for the campaign as one of the main objectives of the MG system was to raise awareness and understanding of personal financial issues across the broad spectrum, including protection to consumers. "MG has the potential to bring protection to the attention of people who may not be aware of its benefits," she added.

Roy McLoughlin, senior partner at Master Adviser, said any increased awareness resulting from the review was good. "The findings of Thoresen's report are integral to close the protection gap," he said, applauding Thoresen's achievements in this area. Although agreeing with the service in theory, he said he had reservations about who would pay for it.

Peter Chadborn, principal of CBK Colchester, shared these reservations, saying the idea of making protection information simple would not alone be enough to increase policy purchases and stressed the emphasis should be on offering high quality products.

- To register your support for the COVER campaign, log onto www.promotingprotection.co.uk.

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