The Intermediary – September 2026 - Flipbook - Page 84
P RO T E C T I O N
Opinion
Turning
into
G
eneral insurance
(GI) has long been
an important
part of the advice
conversation, but this
year’s Paymentshield
Adviser Survey results suggest it is
becoming a much bigger commercial
priority, too.
Nine in 10 advisers want to grow
their GI volumes
Our 2026 Adviser Survey was
conducted with 461 financial advisers
in May and June.
According to the survey, three in 10
(30%) now expect GI to be their single
biggest area of business growth over
the next 12 months, compared with
7% in 2025 and 9% in 2024.
That is a significant shi in a
relatively short space of time, and
comes at a point when nine in 10
advisers tell us they want to grow
their GI volumes, suggesting there
is considerable appetite within the
market to do more.
28% of advisers only revisit GI
when the client asks them to
The starting point
Many advisers admit that GI is still
a relatively new part of what they
do. One third of respondents to this
year’s survey are either just geing
started or have only been having GI
82
The Intermediary | September 2026
conversations with clients for one to
two years.
59% of advisers acknowledge
that their current process could
be improved
That perhaps helps to explain why
one in four say they are unsure when
to introduce GI into the process, with
59% acknowledging that their current
process could be improved.
None of this takes away from the
enthusiasm we are seeing. If anything,
it shows the position many firms
NASAR HUSSAIN
is associate director of
intermediated household
at Paymentshield
A third are either just getting
started or have only been having
GI conversations with clients for
a couple of years
are currently in – they can see the
potential of GI and want to do more
of it, but many are still exploring how
to make it a consistent part of their
client journey.
For those advisers, growing GI may
be less about finding significantly
more clients to speak to, and more
about making beer use of existing
client relationships and conversations.
What clients value
One area where there appears to be
scope for change is in how advisers
position GI with customers. Four in
10 advisers believe the main reason
clients seek advice is convenience
– that they do not have the time
or inclination to arrange cover
themselves. Only 18% believe the
main reason is that customers want
peace of mind that they have the right
product.
Separate Paymentshield research
conducted by YouGov with 2,067 UK
A quarter say they rarely or never
discuss GI with remortgage or
product transfer clients
adults last year suggests a different
picture. More than a third (35%)
ranked peace of mind as the single
biggest driver for seeking advice,
while 56% said they would pay more
for their insurance if it gave them
peace of mind that they had the right
