About 60intermediary businesseshave added a protection comparison service to their website, allowing clients to search, select and buy from a whole of market protection service.
About 60intermediary businesseshave added a protection comparison service to their website, allowing clients to search, select and buy from a whole of market protection service.
Advisers also receive full commission for any policies purchased online through their service.
Theadviser brandedcomparison service is provided byLifeQuote, which provides comparison platforms for intermediaries and supports some of theUK’slargest consumer comparison sites.
Neil McCarthy, sales and marketing director, LifeQuote, said: “As online becomes the default option for many products and serviceswhether financial, retail or government, it is critical that brokers retain their clients acrossall theirproducts and services,ifpossible.
“While face to face will be the preferred option formanymortgage and indeed protectionclients,advisers must recognise that a small and increasing number of clients may prefer to transact some of their needs online.
“By providing your own service you retain the client, and importantly the income that goes with it.”
Adding a D2C service is increasingly seen as an extension of an adviser’s offering rather than in conflict with their intermediated service.
Data on clients that transact online also shows that they are happy to buy a range of policies,with premiums comparable to an intermediated service.
Brokers cite a range of reasons for adding the service,which includeextending the buying options for clients that want both advised and non-advised servicesandbeing able to offer protection when either constraints mean that it cannot be covered in a face-to-face conversation.
