A lack of knowledge and cost are the key barriers to clients taking out income protection, according to research from Income Protection Taskforce (IPTF).
The research conducted by the IPTF in March among its adviser population, reveals 57% of respondents recommended the product to at least 70% of clients, with 19% of advisers recommending it to over 90% of those they spoke to.
However, while an encouraging level of advisers had had a conversation around the need to protect income, when asked how often this led clients to purchase IP, nearly 74% reported that less than half of their clients went on to take out a policy.
For 21% of these advisers, the figure was less than 10% and only 1% of advisers said that over 90% of their clients went on to make a purchase.
Advisers were also asked what they thought the main barriers to sale were with client knowledge and cost topping the list.
Looking at the year ahead, nearly three quarters (73%) expected to sell more IP with only 1% expecting sales to be adversely affected.
The largest proportion of respondents had no real concerns about the year ahead but those who were more cautious were most likely to be concerned about harsher underwriting and the resulting potential increase in premiums that might be seen.
The research also shows that the consensus among respondents was that Covid would be a driver and the biggest positive influence on sales this year.