The Building Societies Association (BSA) believes regulatory intervention has provided a major barrier to insurance purchases and that the FSA's approach is "pretty flawed".
The Mortgage Market Review (MMR) could significantly affect the protection market, Swiss Re has said.
The BSA has called on the government to step in urgently to debate the future of the mortgage market.
The regulator this week hit back at CML claims almost four million borrowers would have been denied a mortgage if Mortgage Market Review (MMR) proposals had been in force between 2005 and 2008.
The FSA has hit out at a number of the "bigger" lenders over their concerns about verifying income for the self-employed or those with irregular earnings.
The Building Societies Association (BSA) has elected Hanley Economic Building Society chief executive David Webster as its chairman for 2010/11.
Gross lending by mutuals increased by 36% in March to £1.597m compared to £1.174m in February.
The Treasury has published a discussion paper on how building societies access capital, detailing options for securing the industry's long-term stability.
An industry forum has been established with the task of tackling mortgage fraud.
Gross lending by building societies was subdued in January at £1bn, a drop from £1.8bn in December, as funds for mortgage lending remained unavailable.