Independent financial advisers (IFAs) still own the largest share of the protection market, despite its long-term sales slump, according to the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
However their portion of the sector is being increasingly challenged by high street banks and building societies . Figures published by the regulator in its annual survey of pure protection products, categorised as standalone critical illness (CI), critical illness as a rider, and income protection (IP), reveal that IFAs were responsible for 29 per cent of sales from April 2009 to March 2010, but banks and building societies accounted for 22 per cent.
The report notes that: "Although the trend has been for a reduction in the sale of pure protection products across the board, not all types of firms have been equally affected. Banks and building societies are performing particularly well, with growth rates of 36 per cent year-on-year (yoy) in Q1 2010, while sales by mortgage business, other insurers and personal investment firms (IFAs) contracted by 30 per cent, 21 per cent and 24 per cent yoy respectively during the same period."




