Appearing on a panel at the invite-only two-day event at the Brooklands Hotel in Surrey, Dave Corbett, head of protection at Mortgage 1st, said the timing of the review was “unfortunate to say the least”. 

Last month, the regulator announced it would be observing advice practices over mis-selling concerns and the commission paid to brokers where the product does not give customers the best results. 

It also produced a separate report where it expressed worries about whether advisers and providers were properly complying with the fair value assessment rule of Consumer Duty. 

Corbett said: “Just as the market is really quite buoyant and we’re pushing that open door and looking at products that do address needs, the timing is poor and not well-thought-out.”

He said protection was a “confidence game”, adding: “Maintaining that confidence with a panel of brokers is really tricky. So, we don’t want anything to pull the rug from under that.” 

Sponsored

Market Moves: Understanding UK Housing Trends

Introducing the first in our video series “Market Moves: Understanding UK Housing Trends” The

Sponsored by Halifax Intermediaries

Corbett acknowledged that some firms had knowledge gaps and would need to be upskilled, but said he did not want “the confidence to go out of the market”. 

Also on the panel was Matthew Chapman, consultant at The Protection Coach. 

He said he was “concerned the regulator might be looking slightly in the wrong direction in certain areas”. 

Chapman added: “For those firms who embraced the Consumer Duty model and started looking at improving their advice processes, they shouldn’t have a lot to worry about. 

“If they’ve got systems and methodologies for demonstrating fair value for their customers, if they’ve got their right prioritisation roles in place, if they’re compliant with what the regulator and also their networks have said, I don’t think they’ve got a lot to worry about.” 

Chapman continued: “If anyone’s doing their job properly, they’re producing good outcomes for their customers, and they can demonstrate that, [then] I don’t think you need to worry about it. I think it’s where we’ve got these complexities in the market, that there’s going to be a bit of a grey area.”