Consumer research conducted by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has given IFAs and morgage brokers a ringing endorsement as the distribution channels which provide the best support for consumers looking to buy protection products.
While the overall sales experience was generally positive, one in ten buyers said they had felt somewhat pressurised and several areas for improvement were suiggested.
As part of its comprehensive review into how retail customers view, buy and understand protection products, the FCA asked consumers about the support or help received from the purchase channel they used.
IFAs topped the table in four of the six categories, with mortgage brokers second. These were:
- helping you get the best deal or price
- making sure the policy was set up in the right way (e.g. placed in trust, nominated beneficiaries)
- explaining the implications of your health or lifestyle
- Helping you think about future needs you hadn’t considered (e.g. school fees, care costs)
The roles were reversed as IFAs and financial advisers were only pipped by mortgage brokers in the other two categories; helping customers understand the cover they needed and offering different policy options.
Both groups had at least 70% of respondents saying they were excellent or very good for all six elements and were clearly rated above other distribution channels.
The other purchasing channels in the survey were banks and building societies, insurance and pension providers, and insurance brokers.
In contrast these channels typically were only around 60% excellent or very good and never reached 70% for any element.
IFAs, insurance and mortgage brokers were also most likely to give buyers the option of more than one provider by comparing the whole market or selecting from a panel of providers.
Positive experience, but one in ten pressured
Overall, most consumers said they had a positive experience when they discussed buying protection with the purchase channel they had chosen. More than a third (36%) said they felt fully informed and made the decision themselves. Almost half (45%) said they felt guided but free to decide.
But this was not the case for everyone with 11% saying they felt somewhat pressured to choose a policy, 5% said they felt strongly pushed to go with a particular policy and 1% said they didn’t feel they had a real choice.
Those with a medical condition at the time of purchase were more likely to say they felt somewhat pressured (21% vs. 7% of those without a condition).
They were also less likely to say they felt fully informed (28% vs. 39%). The FCA pointed out that this was more a feature of the product and purchase channel than having a medical condition per se.
Areas for improvement
Three-quarters of the people surveyed felt the support they received could have been improved with several areas for improvement suggested.
These included explaining more about how the policy works (26% overall, 31% for IFA clients), explaining the options more clearly (24% – 27% for IFA clients) and help to think more about things they had not considered (24% – 33% for IFA clients).
One in five (20%) also said it would be good if the purchasing channel had explained more about how they were paid (26% for IFAs), made the exclusions easier to understand (24% for IFAs), offered more product options or provider choices (27% for IFAs) and provided an actual recommendation (25% for IFAs).
The FCA landmark study was based on a nationally representative survey of 14,326 UK consumers between September and October 2025.
The research also found that 42% of those surveyed had protection policies in place with most under 50 years old, that protection policies were serving most people’s needs, and that one in three buyers had pre-existing medical conditions or a vulnerability.
