Opinion

The politics of long-term care funding has become very contentious in the run up to the election and the debate has moved from a relatively rational debate on options for the future to emotive political point scoring.

In the first of his exclusive new series, Kevin Carr looks at the ups and the downs this month in the protection industry.

With Big-T and Little-T underwriting now common and significantly reducing non-disclosure issues, do you feel the industry is ready for a tele-claims service? Is there a demand for this, and is it necessary?

My client, Anne (39), is a divorced accounts executive with two primary-school-aged children. Her widowed and retired father, Brian (66), also lives with the family, and takes a significant role in childcare, allowing her to work full-time. What protection...

Do you think the FSA gives value for money, or would Conservative plans to transfer its powers to the Bank of England be a reasonable course of action?

Ellipse has come into the group risk market with the aim of changing the methods of underwriting and customer service. What do you think could be reasonably changed about the current underwriting procedure?

The protection industry is expecting a reduction in the number of IFAs post RDR of from 20-50%, depending on the survey chosen. Will this impact on sales of protection and will this prompt the resurgence of in-house sales forces - the man from the Pru?...

The ABI reviews the statement of best practice on critical illness every three years. Given the high frictional costs associated with the change that the customer ultimately pays for, is it still correct that we should follow this strict path?

Do you think that any standardisation of qualifications for advisers will improve public trust in the insurance industry, leading to an uptake in the amount of people seeking independent advice?

Well we are deep in the heart of the summer months and, while the insurance industry is rather quiet in terms of providers and intermediaries, many official bodies have seen fit, perhaps cynically, to use the last month to release research results and...