The survey of over 500 brokers also found 44 per cent believed regulation had not had a positive impact on their customers, with 62 per cent seeing regulation as the biggest issue currently facing brokers.
Bruce Reid, managing director at Select & Protect, believed these findings were worrying, especially with the attention focused on the selling of general insurance (GI) by the Financial Services Authority.
“Of course price is always going to be one of the key influencing factors, but now more than ever, it’s imperative that intermediaries make sure they treat each customer as individuals when recommending GI products and ensure they identify, advise and sell customers a product that’s most appropriate to their needs.”
The research discovered 82 per cent thought GI was an important part of the mortgage application process and 70 per cent were optimistic about the future of the market.
Brokers also believed technology would play a big part in this future, with 78 per cent saying online transactions were likely to increase.
Jock Cassidy, managing director of Ashley Law, commented: “The majority of decisions are driven by price as brokers are competing for business with the likes of Tesco, which is selling GI cheaply without any advice. I also agree that the Key Facts document is presented to the client but they have very little perception of what to do with it.”
