Wealth advisers want to write protection business but say they need help demonstrating the need for protection, according to a survey conducted at the recent Consumer Duty Alliance Protection Forum.

Nine out of 10 (92%) wealth advisers said they wanted to write protection business themselves, not refer it to a protection specialist.

Three-fifths (57%) said they would be more inclined to make protection part of their core proposition if they were able to demonstrate the need for protection to their clients.

Two-fifths (43%) described a lack of necessary training or tools as the biggest blocker to them offering protection advice.

Adviser information service Protection Guru said the results revealed a failure on behalf of protection insurers to effectively engage with wealth advisers.

It warned that if advisers lack understanding of the need and value protection offers, they will not recognise the poor consumer outcomes that can arise from a lack of protection insurance, impacting client outcomes.

Ian McKenna, chief executive and founder of Protection Guru, said: “We frequently hear wealth advisers say their clients don’t need protection because they are wealthy, but the level of wealth is nothing like the level needed to have no protection need for cover. Every financial plan fails without an income. Taking income from investments to bridge a serious illness can have a significant impact on the level of savings achieved in later life.”

He said the research findings demonstrate a clear case for protection insurers engaging differently with wealth advisers. “That may be an uncomfortable pill for some to swallow, but we now have the crucial evidence that the protection industry is failing to reach wealth advisers in the right way. It is time to rethink the approach to altogether.”

• Research was conducted by Protection Guru among 112 wealth advisers who attended the the first Consumer Duty Alliance (CDA) Protection Forum. Protection Guru is a subsidiary of the Financial Technology Research Centre.