Self Employed Insurance

lordhaldon

dunstonh wrote: »

You missed the smiley at the end of my sentence. That indicates the tone it was said in which was clearly not having a go.



When most posters here post about insurances and internet they are thinking of the confused, moneysupermarket style sites. Not IFAs or protection firms with a website.



Many people dont like to bother their IFA with simple questions or dont realise the range of products an IFA has available. Although chances are there is no being used. So, its likely to be irrelevant anyway.

My point exactly. If they had a good relationship with their IFA, neither the IFA or the client would even consider it to be a simple question. As for the range of products, does the IFA not explain his services and the range of products he is able to provide up front along with the remuneration options?:beer:

dunstonh

As for the range of products, does the IFA not explain his services and the range of products he is able to provide up front along with the remuneration options?

Depends on the service that the IFA is providing the client. Many people out there do not know what things an IFA can do. Often its perceived that its an investment advice role rather than an insurance role as well (partly as many IFAs only do investment class business). Some offer a full brokerage service. Some don't. The term "IFA" indicates a level of qualification and authorisation under FSA rules but it covers many many different business models. Going back to Cavendish on that other thread, they are IFAs. However, their internet service only offers a limited panel of providers. If you look at their pension panel, its missing some of the cheapest pensions on the market. (So, someone buying from them thinking they are getting it cheap could actually be paying more than someone using a fee based IFA. Despite the IFA costing more, the product charges could be lower). So, their IFA with a website option can be more expensive than their own IFA with advice option.

There is also economies of scale. A few of the advisers here have in the past done nil commission life quotes to compare against Cavendish nil commission life quotes and found that we get better terms than Cavendish. For small premiums that may not be worth the cost but for large premiums, it could still be better going to a fee based IFA with a network who has obtained better terms.

Its really impossible to say what option is going to be best. However, doing something is better than nothing and in the context of this thread subject, the OP should avoid the quote portals as they only offer PPI. Whether they use an IFA with a website or a local IFA doesnt really matter at the end of the day as long as they do something.