Advisers have been struggling to sell income protection because clients claim not to need it, Defaqto research has shown.
And 39% of advisers said clients could not afford it.
The latest review of income protection (IP) products, published today, suggested people could not envisage being sick for any length of time; and that the state would provide if they were.
According to the Department for Work and Pensions, in May 2011, 2.6m people claimed incapacity benefits; 31% had claimed up to three years and 35% for 10 years or more.
The report highlighted main IFA concerns and product developments needed to address them.
The 40-page document said: "Compared to other protection products - for example, critical illness cover - there has been relatively little activity in incoem protection insurance, which underlines the indifference with which the market treats this important product."
Comparably, more than 20 short-term IP products launched last year. But 56% of respondents, when asked if STIP would threaten I sales, said the increasing awareness of IP would support it.
Ben Heffer, insight analyst for life and protection insurance at Defaqto, said: "Within protection advice, income protection should be the first consideration in most scenarios.
"The emphasis on marketing life and critical illness cover can often result in income protection being overlooked, when in reality it should be the foundation of the financial planning process."
The Defaqto findings also showed that advisers themselves had concerns about whetehr policies would pay out.
The report stated long-term IP insurance was an advised sale, but if advisers left the market post-RDR, even less would be distributed.
Defaqto said it was important for providers to put greater emphasis on supporting advisers to make more IP recommendations.
