Brokers say protection income is becoming more strategically important as firms diversify beyond mortgage completions
Industry data suggesting the broker channel accounted for around 36% of UK income protection sales in 2024/25 is resonating with advisers, many of whom say protection advice has become central to both revenue resilience and advice quality.
Brokers responding to Insurance Business and Mortgage Introducer said income protection and wider protection advice now play a material role in stabilising cash flow, supporting Consumer Duty obligations and diversifying business models, particularly as mortgage activity remains sensitive to rate volatility and transaction delays.
‘An integral part of my income’
For Denni Tyson, mortgages and protection adviser at DT Financial, protection advice has become inseparable from both income stability and the advice process.
“Protection advice has become an integral part of my income, and yes, that has increased over time,” Tyson said.
From a commercial perspective, he deliberately structures protection income to reduce volatility. “From an income perspective, I take protection commission as monthly rather than up front lump sums… For example, an extra £500 a month in protection income can make a big difference to cash flow, especially if you’re having a quiet month on completions.”
Tyson said protection remains inconsistently handled across the market. “There are still advisers who essentially just churn out mortgages,” he said, adding that in some larger corporate environments the priority seems to be volume and margin rather than tailored advice”.
“From my side, protection is part of day-to-day advice now. I genuinely focus more on getting that right than on the mortgage rate, because if something goes wrong with health or income, the mortgage is where the pain shows up.”
Protection teams rival mortgage output
Craig Head, director at Mortgage Required said protection advice has become more central to revenue and regulatory considerations within the business.
“Although income and protection advice is certainly important to us from a revenue perspective, we are very robust with this advice from a moral stand point and also a regulatory stand point,” Head said.
He added that the growth of protection income has enabled the firm to commit greater resources to that side of the business. “Our Protection team are now some of our biggest business writers exceeding many on the mortgage side so Protection accounts for a very important part of the revenue we make as a company.”
Embedded in the advice journey
The contribution of protection to revenue is secondary to how it is embedded within the advice process.
“Income protection and wider protection advice are an important part of our overall advice proposition, but the starting point is always the client,” said Katrina Horstead, director at Versed Financial.
She added that the firm does not treat protection as a bolt-on. “We build it into the advice journey in a structured way… Only once we have that full picture do we look at potential gaps and priorities.”
While protection contributes to overall revenue, Horstead said it is prioritised because it supports long-term client resilience rather than short-term income generation.
‘A core pillar, not an add-on’
At Mortgage 1st, managing director Jon Stones said protection has become central to both advice quality and business sustainability.
“Income protection and wider protection advice remains a critical part of our revenue mix and advice process, as it addresses real life needs and risks that our customers face,” Stones said.
He noted that a high proportion of the firm’s advice is portfolio-based, incorporating income protection and family income benefit products that are “often under-represented.”
“A sustainable mortgage business needs to diversify,” Stones said, pointing to in-house protection referral routes. “Protection isn’t an add-on to the mortgage conversation, it’s a core pillar of a well-balanced advice proposition, it remains a growing and key contributor to the long-term health of the business.”
Taken together, the responses suggest protection advice is no longer being treated as a supplementary income stream, but as a stabilising component of both advice quality and intermediary business models.
