According to research conducted by PMS Mortgage Club and insurer Paymentshield, 94% of mortgage brokers believe it’s best practice to speak to their clients about GI.
A smaller majority, 60%, said they felt GI was a good source of income.
However, on average only 37% of mortgage applications are sold alongside a GI quote.
So much to do
The results echo those found by Mortgage Solutions in its broker poll earlier this month.
Helen Pierson, head of business development at Mortgage Bureau, told Mortgage Solutions that time may be a key factor. “In reality, advisers have so much to do that they don’t perhaps mention GI as much as they should,” she said.
“Some may actively steer away from it, perish the thought, as the amount of time and work that has to be done make it a poor use of time, given the upfront remuneration.”
This reflects the findings from PMS and Paymentshield which revealed that 34% of advisers found a lack of time as the main reason they don’t quote for GI.
And the same proportion of respondents added that they do not feel confident on product knowledge in the area.
Duty of care
PMS managing director Mark Graves said the group had seen a 43% increase in GI quotes during the last year.
“Our survey shows that, while advisers are conscious of their responsibility to offer GI, they don’t always execute this duty of care on a day-to-day basis.
“Clients need to feel reassured that they’re receiving the right recommendations and that they’re being supported by someone who understands the market and can offer appropriate solutions. We hope to see GI quotes continue to improve as advisers take advantage of the vast amount of support now available.”
Paymentshield sales director James Watson added: “There are still many advisers, even the most experienced, who avoid talking about GI due to a perceived lack of time, resource or knowledge.
“If time is genuinely a problem then advisers should consider routes to offer a more complete service by referring business or employing a GI specialist.
“The results of the survey demonstrate the huge potential out there for additional work that is currently going untapped. What’s more, this means there are homeowners leaving their mortgage application process feeling unsupported and most likely turning to online aggregator sites for insurance products which, as we know, can be problematic to say the least.”
