Kevin Paterson is sales and marketing director at Assurant Intermediary
According to reports of an industry poll published recently in the trade press, nearly 40% of brokers are worried about recommending Accident Sickness and Unemployment policies after the PPI mis-selling scandal. However a much greater proportion, 61% of respondents, said that they were not worried about ASU and compliance.
The fact that the majority of brokers appear not to have been discouraged from selling ASU is positive news. The majority of brokers recognise these products as vital financial protection for their clients and an important element of their portfolio. But the 40% of brokers who are concerned about recommending ASU shows that our industry still has a long way to go to counter the misconceptions that have dogged this product, both amongst brokers and consumers.
My view is that the new rules introduced by the Competition Commission are not as onerous as may be perceived by some and are designed only to prevent the problems of mis-selling that have plagued this product.
Arguably the attentions of the Competition Commission and the resulting public and media scrutiny on the product means there has never been a better time to buy ASU. The products have been redesigned and the sales practices changed to ensure these products provide much better value for clients.
