FSC chairman Jenny Shipley says one of the findings in a recent report is that “people don’t know where to obtain objective advice.”

“Market research indicates there is no hostility to the idea of personal risk insurance. In fact most people understand its value but don’t know how much they need, or feel confident about purchasing it,” she said.

TNP managing director Jeff Page says the issue isn’t about awareness but the fact that life insurance remains, for many people, a ‘grudge’ purchase.

“I would say everybody knows where to go [for advice], and if they don’t it’s not hard to find out where to buy insurance,” he said.

Page’s views were also echoed by industry veteran Ron Flood. “Insurance has never been bought, it’s always been sold. Very few people go out and say I must get some life insurance today, where do I go?”

“It’s something that is triggered by an event in their life and normally, nine out of 10 people, as soon as they need life insurance they turn to friends, family, workmates and ask who looks after your life insurance?

“This crap about not knowing who to turn to, it’s normally from people who haven’t had any time in the business, they don’t have a feel for it.”

FSC chief executive Peter Neilson said the research indicated consumers appreciate the need for life products, but he said it did also highlights challenges for the advice world.

“We’ve got to find a way of creating less costly, scalable advice. In other words, advice that can go to a large number of people and help them work out what their needs are going to be in order to make the industry work more effectively,” he said.

“The public...are not saying the last thing I want to buy is insurance. They’re saying I think I’ve got a need but I don’t quite understand what I’m being offered and I don’t know where to go in order to make that more clear.”