The FCA says around 58% of adults hold no life insurance, critical illness cover or income protection, and it is working with industry, government and consumer groups to improve financial resilience. The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries is expected to lead work on helping advisers improve protection conversations, while mortgage-industry commentary has highlighted unemployment cover and income protection as potentially overlooked parts of the advice process.
AI could help firms identify appropriate moments to prompt a protection discussion, produce meeting summaries and evidence that key risks and alternatives were considered. Yet the regulatory focus is on consumer outcomes, not simply completion rates. Advisers should make sure automated workflows do not create pressure selling, make unsupported assumptions about needs, or reduce nuanced conversations about budget, employment status, exclusions and existing cover.