Mortgage Vision 2026: Protection conversations aren’t sticking with consumers, says Charman
Stephanie Charman, chief executive of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI), addressed delegates at Mortgage Vision, where she discussed the industry’s protection gap.
Charman highlighted the scale of the UK’s protection gap and the significant role advisers have to play in addressing it.
Most protection sales via intermediaries
Charman emphasised that 80% of protection sales in the UK are completed through intermediaries, underlining the sector’s critical role in closing the nation’s protection gap.
Despite this, she warned that a significant shortfall remains, noting that 58% of adults hold no protection product whatsoever, contributing to an estimated total of 50 million unmet protection needs across the market.
According to Charman, consumer behaviour remains one of the biggest barriers to greater protection uptake. She said many consumers prioritise immediate spending over long-term financial security, underestimate their risk of illness or death, and often assume protection products are more expensive than they really are.
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She also pointed to a disconnect between advisers and clients. While adviser research shows more protection conversations are taking place, relatively few consumers recall having them.
Charman suggested this may be partly due to how protection discussions are positioned within the mortgage journey.
“Where do we position protection conversations in the process?” she asked.
Referring to conversations that take place around the point of mortgage offer, she said: “We’re trying to have a conversation about protection, and their minds have just moved on,” arguing that many clients are already focused on moving home and other aspects of the purchase process.
Addressing advisers in the audience, Charman acknowledged that there is no single solution to the problem.
“We’ve not got the answers, but some of you will have,” she said.
Charman added that improving customer engagement would require both better communication and operational improvements across the protection journey, warning that lengthy application and underwriting processes continue to contribute to customer drop-off.
“We can do all the work we want at the top end, but if we don’t fix the application process and the underwriting journey, more customers are going to fall away,” she added.
