Business management consultant Dr Ian Brooks told advisers at a TNP roadshow that three insurers he had talked to had mooted the ideas as they increasingly recognise the importance of retaining clients.

He said the tough economic climate and reinsurance costs meant insurance companies need to have a client on their books for three years before seeing a profit, and that was driving a hardening of attitudes on persistency

"Big changes are coming," he said.

Brooks refused to name the companies in question on grounds of confidentiality.

He said one company was considering barring 15% of the advisers they currently work with from its roadshows.

Brooks said he believed this new stance would see the insurers recognise three categories of adviser, those who write and retain the most business, who would be "treated like a king", those the insurer would want to work with to boost persistency and a third category they would refuse to work with.

Ginger Group chief David Whyte said severing all ties with specific advisers could backfire on insurers.

"If push comes to shove and you decide to terminate an advisers agency, you're guaranteed no business."

He said if an insurer left the agency in place - and provided competitive products and services - it would leave open at least the prospect of future business.

Insurance Savings & Insurance Association (ISI) chief Peter Neilson said the broad view he received from most of the companies he had talked to was that insurers, "would be expecting to make the greatest investment in the agents that were best at maintaining long term relationships with clients."

Sovereign's general manager, adviser distribution, Patrice de Marigny said Sovereign was not looking to change the way it dealt with advisers and they view persistency as "primarily an issue of how you're servicing a customer."

AXA general manager, wealth protection, Mark Ennis also denied AXA would be making any changes.

He said issues around persistency are reflected in adviser remuneration so that "it almost becomes self policing."

OnePath wealth distribution manager Jeremy Nicolls said that while the company is "continually reviewing how to best retain our clients and build partnerships with advisers" he said he couldn't comment on Brooks' remarks as he wasn't present at the seminar.

The chief executives of Fidelity Life and Partners Life were also contacted by Good Returns, but were out of the country and unavailable for comment.