Research business Defaqto has added whole-of-life protection policies to its star ratings service.
Advisers can use the ratings, based on a one-to-five scale, to identify life cover policies based on their overall quality, rather than on price alone, Defaqto said.
The company launched star ratings for Direct Life Assurance and Over 50s Plans last month.
Defaqto insight analyst for life and protection Ben Heffer said: "While unit-linked whole-of-life was the most popular form of whole of life assurance for a number of years, the focus has shifted away from investment linked plans towards non-profit whole of life with a number of providers reinventing their whole of life plans as protection-only products.
"For financial advisers, this presents new opportunities to grow their protection book and add value to their businesses. From a consumer perspective, these products add further to the range of options they have when it comes to life assurance - giving them greater choice, but at the same making the decision-making process more complex."
