News & insights

A new report from LifeSearch, one of the UK's largest specialist protection advisers, has found that two-thirds (66%) of consumers say it’s important to have life insurance recommendations tailored to their health or personal circumstances when buying through a bank, building society or high-street retailer - yet it warns that single-tie distribution is structurally ill-equipped to deliver it.

The report, Distribution Redefined, shows that access, trust and engagement are closely linked, and that when customers cannot find suitable cover, many disengage altogether. This helps explain why the protection gap persists – it’s not simply that people aren’t reached, but because some disengage when the options they are given do not reflect their circumstances.

The findings show that consumers have clear expectations around tailored advice and product suitability:

• Two-thirds (66%) say they would want to be offered a policy suited to their health conditions or family history (just 6% disagreed)
• 66% say it is important to receive a recommendation tailored to their personal circumstances (7% disagreed)
• Over half (58%) say it’s important they get advice from an insurance specialist who considers their individual situation (only 9% disagreed)
• 56% do not want a one-size-fits-all approach to an insurance product (8% disagreed)

The scale of the challenge is underlined by LifeSearch's own customer data: in 2025, around one in four of the customers it helped secure life insurance for were offered terms that differed from standard cover. This may have meant a slightly higher premium, a specific exclusion, or additional checks - but importantly, they were still able to get the protection they needed.

These customers are not unusual and included those with conditions such as more advanced type 2 diabetes, complex mental health histories, very high BMI, or those waiting on medical test results - all of which can make it harder to find cover through a single‑insurer route.

LifeSearch warns that if a customer cannot find suitable cover through a single‑insurer route, it is understandable that they may assume protection is not available to them at all - when in many cases, a wider range of insurers, including those more able to support customers with more complex needs, may exist elsewhere in the market.

The pool of consumers who may need more than a standard, single-product offering is large and growing. NHS Health Survey for England 2024 found that 46% of adults are living with a longstanding illness or condition² and The Health Foundation estimates that 9.1 million people in England are projected to be living with major illness by 2040 - an increase of 2.5 million compared to 2019, growing nine times faster than the working-age population³.

Debbie Kennedy, Chief Executive of LifeSearch, said: "The protection gap debate has tended to focus on reach – how the industry gets in front of more people. But reach is only part of the picture. If the distribution model a customer encounters cannot accommodate their needs, the outcome is the same as never reaching them at all.

“Our experience shows that many people don’t fit a standard insurer profile - and that’s increasingly the norm. Around a quarter of the customers we helped last year were offered terms that differed from standard cover, yet with specialist advice and access to the wider market, they still got protected.

“Those customers exist across every part of the market. The difference is whether they are given access to the right options or are left thinking cover isn’t available and remain unprotected.”

LifeSearch has secured strategic partnerships with Skipton Building Society and Yorkshire Building Society, as well as other leading firms including Which? and Lloyds Banking Group. This reflects LifeSearch's wider ambition to champion broker models, in its belief that moving away from single-tie arrangements ensures consumers receive unbiased advice and access to the best products and value for their needs.

For firms, the implication is clear: improving access is not just about offering more products, but about making sure more customers can find a route to cover that works for their circumstances.

LifeSearch is one of the UK's leading protection advice specialists, blending technology with expert human advice. Since 1998, it has helped over one million people, families and businesses secure 1.7 million policies through its team of 280 specialist advisers. LifeSearch has innovated by embedding protection into wider conversations, reaching consumers in underserved markets to support its ambition to protect people properly.

¹ The research was carried out by Opinium Research on 9-13 January 2026 among 2,000 UK adults.

² Health Survey for England, 2024 - NHS England Digital

³ 2.5 million more people in England projected to be living with major illness by 2040