Doorstep advice: A lesson from history?

HOME SERVICE

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Chris Smeaton, head of product development at James Hay Partnership, asks what the demise of doorstep advice could tell advisers about a post-RDR world.

Twenty years ago there was a flourishing home service sector. Leading players such as the Prudential, Pearl and Co-op provided a doorstep service for almost half the homes in the UK. After well over 100 years it disappeared, because changes in regulation indicated that the products it delivered were no longer considered value for money; somewhat inevitable given the labour intensive nature of the doorstep premium collection service. There is little doubt that a number of clients served by home service companies could have done better elsewhere, purely on a cost basis. However, by v...

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