The protection industry needs its own Martin Lewis – Hall

It’s a question the industry has wrestled with for decades and one we’ve never fully answered.

But now the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has raised the stakes. In the final report of its pure protection market study, published in September, the regulator asked the industry to step up and show “meaningful progress” towards closing the gap over the next 12-18 months.

The good news is that, in the FCA’s view, the market is working well for people who already have cover. So it saw no need to rewrite its rulebook.

The bad news is that the regulator’s own data shows 58% of people hold no protection at all and 59% of those have never even considered it. Above all else then, we have an awareness problem.

The regulator wants to solve it, and has asked the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) to strengthen adviser engagement with protection and the Protection Distributors Group (PDG) to lead a consumer awareness campaign.

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If that campaign is to make the impact the FCA wants, it has to be ambitious.

That means finding a champion with the public’s ear. I have long said that if we want to change how people see protection, we first need to persuade Martin Lewis or people like him.

Why him? Because he reaches the people mortgage advisers rarely, if ever, see. And the reality is that most people don’t like talking about money. For many, it brings nothing but anxiety, so they avoid thinking about how they would cope if the worst happened and do nothing about it.

The reality of having no protection

Plenty also wrongly assume the state will see them through. Its safety net is far thinner than they think.

Statutory sick pay is capped at £123.25 per week for up to 28 weeks. The self-employed get no sick pay at all and may instead be able to claim New Style Employment and Support Allowance, worth £95.55 per week for over-25s and £75.65 for those under 25.

At best, sick pay works out at about £500 per month. According to Clearscore, the average couple spends around £100 per week on food alone. So while statutory sick pay may cover groceries, it doesn’t cover much else.

Anyone banking on the government to cover their mortgage is in for a shock too. Support for Mortgage Interest used to be a benefit. Since 2018, it has been a loan, which charges interest and must be repaid.

As advisers, you already know this. But most people don’t. If they did, I suspect far more would protect their income.

You would hope all homeowners with a broker are aware of the need for protection, but we know these conversations don’t always take place – or in enough detail to make a difference. The AMI’s 2025 Protection Viewpoint found that just 39% of homeowners recalled protection being mentioned by their broker.

But not everyone is a homeowner. Renters may never speak to a broker, so they are far less likely to hear about income protection or life insurance. The PDG is right to put renters, the self-employed and gig economy workers at the heart of its campaign.

Closing the gap

This is where Martin Lewis comes in. When he speaks, people listen. A Channel 4 poll of 2,000 adults in 2022 even named him the celebrity Brits would most like to see as Prime Minister.

He doesn’t do paid endorsements, of course, and has covered life insurance on his show before. But imagine the impact if he ran an in-depth series on protection, looking at how the products work, what they cost, how often claims are paid and the stories of real people whose lives it has changed. And, more importantly, championing the need to get advice so that individuals are getting appropriate cover for their individual needs and budgets rather than self-selecting the wrong product.

It needn’t be Martin Lewis. Anyone the public knows and trusts, and who can speak credibly about the value of protection, could make the same difference. We should also not discount the UK’s burgeoning finance podcast scene, which is getting increasing traction with the public. If we really want to move the dial, that is the approach we need to take.

Having 12-18 months isn’t long for a problem we have been trying to fix for decades. But the FCA has handed us the chance to show what this industry can do. Let’s be ambitious and not waste it.