Two-fifths of financial advisers have revealed they still feel they have ‘no support' from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) when selling protection products.
A survey conducted by Cirencester Friendly also found 65% of advisers felt let down by its predecessor, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in selling protection products.
The survey found that while the majority (69%) of advisers blame the banks for the Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) mis-selling scandal, 17% of advisers blamed the FSA, who should have acted sooner according to the respondents.
In 2004, the FSA made it a requirement for advisers to offer PPI when advising on mortgages, 65% of advisers said that they felt let down by this in light of recent events and a further 40% of advisers said they did not feel the new regulator, the FCA was supportive of them offering any protection products to their clients.
John Bridge, director of sales and marketing at Cirencester Friendly said: "It is disappointing to see that so many advisers feel they have had no support from the regulator when it comes to protection products.
"This is a vitally important part of financial planning and whilst PPI continues to dominate the headlines consumers are becoming less inclined to take up other protection products. The feedback we have received in our annual survey is that advisers feel the FSA should not have let the miss-selling go on for so long and that they should have acted sooner.
"The newly formed FCA has a real opportunity to work with the protection industry to promote the merits of professional advice and help to ensure that the people of the UK are properly protected."
The survey also found many advisers believe the next financial services scandal will be the sale of interest only mortgages.
