Ahead of the launch of the 2026 Protection Viewpoint Study from The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI), the trade body reveals that the vast majority of consumers who have started the protection insurance buying process but did not go on to buy haven't ruled it out for good.
Across the different reasons people give for not buying protection by those that dropped out, the vast majority - between 79% and 95% - said something could have changed their decision and made them more likely to go ahead with cover, according to the study of 3,000 UK consumers.
AMI has found that the barriers standing between consumers and protection are rarely fixed – whether that's cost, confidence, understanding of the product, or simply not having been asked the right question at the right time.
AMI handed a lead role in FCA's protection gap push, backed by Viewpoint research
The early insights land two weeks after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published the final report of its Pure Protection Market Study, which found that 58% of UK adults have no protection - and 59% of that group have never even considered it. AMI has been named by the FCA as the trade body to lead industry efforts to strengthen adviser engagement with protection, citing insights from the annual Viewpoint research as an appropriate platform to coordinate practical support for advisers across the wider sector and different intermediary models.
Launch event on 5th November at 9am
AMI’s Protection Viewpoint Report 2026 is launching at a virtual event on Thursday 5 November at 9am, and is inviting advisers, firm leaders, networks, insurers and technology providers from across the industry to join. Registration is via this link.
Three pillars from the 2026 Viewpoint research
The Protection Viewpoint report has been developed in partnership with L&G, The Exeter and Vitality, and will examine protection from three angles: how consumers are changing, how protection propositions and marketing needs to evolve, and the future of advice.
This year’s study will look at how the consumer landscape is changing, what’s really shaping the protection journey, and provide practical takeaways to help the industry better address the protection gap.
Stephanie Charman, Chief Executive of AMI, commented:
"The FCA’s final report has put a clear marker down: now is the time for the industry to move from talking about the protection gap to actively working to close it. The Viewpoint study gives us the evidence and insights, and now AMI has the mandate to put it to work with advisers.
“What our research tells us, is that the protection journey is not linear. Consumers are not closing the door on it, but the industry isn’t always finding the moment to open it. Cost, confidence, understanding, and timing are all barriers that can be addressed, not fixed points that rule people out for good.
“This year’s report will focus the insights through three pillars: consumer, proposition and the advice model – offering practical, evidence-led support that help the industry understand the moments, conversations and approaches that can turn interest in protection into action. We hope the industry leans in to join us to take action to close the protection gap.”
The virtual launch event will bring the report findings to life through discussion, insight and thought leadership, bringing together the latest consumer data with industry and adviser perspectives to explore what the findings mean for the future of protection.
Registration is open here.
