Nearly half of Britons have never seen a financial adviser but doing so boosts protection uptake, according to research from The Openwork Partnership.
It found 45% of all 2,000 respondents had never seen an adviser, with around 48% of under-35s saying they have never seen an adviser compared with 46% of over-55s.
However, 9% of people said they had an adviser or firm they saw regularly while another 11% said they had seen advisers or firms in the past year, with 5% saying they contacted an adviser as a direct result of the pandemic.
The research conducted by Opinium in July showed 12% of adults valued professional financial advice more since the pandemic, with that number nearly doubling to 23% among the under-35s.
One in ten (9%) of those surveyed said they had taken out protection insurance which they would not have done without seeing an adviser while the same percentage were helped with their family finances.
Value of advice
Recognition of the value of advice has increased the most in London where people were also the most likely to have seen an adviser over the past year.
One in four of Londoners reported they valued advice more now and 22% had sought professional advice in the past year, although in the rest of the country this figure was between 13% and 9%.
The research also showed 16% said the value of their investments had grown as a result of advice, while 12% said they avoided making mistakes with their mortgage and 11% had seen the value of their pension increase.
Mike Morrow, chief commercial officer at The Openwork Partnership, said: “Professional financial advice has been vital during the pandemic and delivered significant benefits for millions of people when they have needed help.
“Millions now recognise the value of professional advice and the practical impact of advice in helping to increase the value of investments and secure mortgages. Just as importantly people acknowledge they have taken action on protection which they would not have considered without support from an adviser.
“Of course, there is the issue that millions never see an adviser or seek advice on their finances which the industry has to do more to address. The Openwork Partnership is working hard to spread the message on the value of advice and the support that our network delivers.”