Scottish Widows will soon be launching a menu product specifically designed for networks - a move su...
Scottish Widows will soon be launching a menu product specifically designed for networks - a move suggesting the insurer may be turning its back against the intermediary market.
However, Nick Kirwan, Scottish Widows' marketing director for protection, slammed the allegations, insisting that the firm will continue to work closely with IFAs. "Launching the protection platform is the single biggest strategic investment that Scottish Widows has ever made, so why would we ever want to exclude IFAs?" Kirwan asked.
He said: "Yes, the next major plan is to implement our new menu product, which will be launched at the end of October. But while this product will be specifically designed for network customers and not for intermediaries, as soon as it has been rolled out we will sit down and talk to advisers and see what they want. "Launching a menu product for the intermediary market could then be the next stage of our development," Kirwan added.
The protection menu product being rolled out next month will have four different components. These will include a pick-and-mix benefit whereby a policyholder could choose between, for example, critical illness insurance, pension term assurance and whole of life. It will also include a 'more benefits, more discount' option.
