IFAs say Click shake-up shows value of advice

25 November 2010 12:00 pm | By Natalie Holt

IFAs say the business model restructure and job losses at non-advised protection firm Click highlight the value of personal, face-to-face protection advice.

In a shake-up of the firm’s business model, Click will move away from indemnity commission to commission paid on policy renewal. The move has resul-ted in over 50 job losses at the company’s Farnham and Manchester offices.

Joint managing director Ray Flannery says: “Our intention is to move to a non-indemnity commission basis to position ourselves for the impact of the RDR. Our industry has challenges with indemnity commission but progress is painfully slow. We look forward to add-ressing these challenges in the future and emerging all the stronger for doing so.”

Master Adviser senior partner Roy McLoughlin says: “This goes to show that people should not underestimate the value of faceto-face advice as persistency rates tend to be much higher than non-advised sales.”

P3 Wealth Management managing director Frank O’Donnell says: “It is crucial that people get advice based on their personal circumstances and what they can afford. There is no way that the one-size-fits-all approach can work.”

CBK Colchester director Peter Chadborn says: “The market is evolving in ways which are hard to predict but the one certainty is that doing nothing is not an option. Click’s plans reflect my belief that reliance on indem-nity commission is a dangerous position to be in.”

In May, Money Marketing revealed that Click owed Fortis £900,000 in clawback commission. A Fortis spokeswoman would not comment on the situation but said that new business with Click accounts for less than 1 per cent of its total new business.

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