Almost two-thirds of the industry believes the distribution of private medical insurance (PMI) and protection products should have a degree of crossover, according to a new poll.
The Protection Review's latest industry survey asked how closely aligned should the distribution of PMI and traditional products be.
The industry body said votes were split more evenly than in recent polls but the majority (65%) were in favour of a degree of crossover.
Just over a fifth (22%) of respondents said distribution between the two types of insurance should always be joined up.
Meanwhile only 13% of respondents believed PMI and protection products should be kept completely separate in terms of distribution channels.
Kevin Carr, chief executive of the Protection Review said: "From a consumer's view, it is probably madness that we even think of separating health and protection products.
"However, we know that the products and market factors can be quite different. Just because something might appear similar, doesn't mean it is the same."
The issue had been debated at the Protection Review's conference in July earlier on this year.
Speaking at the event, Dave Priestley, sales director at PruHealth had said "successful" insurers and advisers will start to integrate private medical insurance (PMI) and protection to respond to changing customer needs.
However, brokers at the event had favoured keeping the products separate.
