Advisers who have encouraged clients to keep or buy life policies have done "a good job" after the past year saw everyone battle with higher costs.
Guardian chief executive officer, Katya MacLean, said the impact of growing inflation over the past year translated into less disposable income for consumers to spend on protection.
She explained what this meant for Guardian, stating as the firm is a relatively new entry in the market, it meant it has been “somewhat protected” by having a customer base who have bought policies in the past few years.
However, she acknowledged “it’s clear” customers across the industry had to make hard decisions about which outgoings to cut.
“Those advisers who’ve supported clients to keep existing policies or buy new policies have done a great job in difficult circumstances,” she added.
Competition
In terms of competition, MacLean reported the industry had observed changes in the provider landscape with the exit of Aegon and Canada Life in the first half of 2023 and the sale of AIG Life to Aviva in the second half.
Despite this, MacLean described the market as a “healthy, competitive one” but recognised choice is reducing for advisers and their clients.
With this reduction, she said it has become “more important” for remaining providers to innovate and support the full range of customer needs.
This has been made even more possible by the introduction of the consumer duty which sets higher and clearer standards of consumer protection across financial services and requires firms to put their customers' needs first.
MacLean said the Financial Conduct Authority’s focus on outcomes had a “significant” impact on the market and has “moved the industry debate for the better”.
She added that, in delivering the duty, it’s been an “interesting time” of increased interaction and transparency among providers and distributors.
MacLean also reported a greater degree of understanding about what each partner needs to achieve their own objectives.
“Ultimately, we’re all working together for the same goal and this heightened focus on the different constituent parts of a protection recommendation has been a very good thing,” she added.
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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