Bulletin 7, 2008
Round up
4 - The percentage of life insurance complaints to the Ombudsman that were about IFAs, between 2006/7 to 2007/8
7 – The number of life assurance rate changes since the last bulletin (AEGON (x2), Scottish Provident, AXA, Royal Liver, BUPA, Friends Provident)
30 – The percentage rise in complaints about mortgage and banking disputes to the Ombudsman, from 2006/7 to 2007/8
95 - The percentage of income protection claims paid by friendly societies last year, according to the association of friendly societies
8000 – The fall in the average house price over the last year, according to Nationwide.
Comment
LifeSearch welcomes the FSA's recent acknowledgement that a choice made on price alone can be as unsuitable for an individual consumer's needs in life insurance or protection as it is in any other walk of life.
Internet price comparison sites' marketing has convinced many consumers that price and convenience is the most important factor. However, saving a few pence on your life insurance premium does not mean much if and when a life policy chosen purely on price does not offer the income protection at claim time that the consumer had originally expected.
In Protection, the options available and the comprehensiveness of cover provided can be vast, and price should only be one of many factors that are taken into consideration when determining value.
The problem was created with the FSA’s earlier decision that telling consumers who is the cheapest is not regulated advice, but telling them anything else could be. The FSA need to change that rule and put price where it belongs, on a par with everything else that determines value.
Protection press watch
In the last month we've counted at least 14 positive and balanced protection and life insurance articles in the consumer press. The consumer titles most likely to cover protection were The Times, Independent and The Telegraph.
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