Almost three-quarters (74%) of respondents to a survey, conducted at a recent Primis event in Warwickshire, described themselves as either ‘optimistic’ or ‘somewhat optimistic’ about the year ahead.

When asked how they thought 2026 would compare to 2025, 81% of respondents said they expect to write more business this year than last. A further 18% expect volumes to remain broadly the same, while just 1% anticipate a decline.

Brokers in the Midlands are equally confident about protection volumes, with 83% expecting to arrange more cover this year than last. Just 13% expect volumes to hold steady and 3% anticipate a decline.

While confidence is riding high, brokers are realistic about the economic backdrop.

The majority (51%) cited economic uncertainty or unemployment as the biggest challenge facing them in 2026, compared with 22% who pointed to customer affordability pressures.

Only 2% identified lower transaction volumes as their primary concern, showing continued confidence in underlying market activity.

Fifty-six per cent (56%) of those surveyed identified the refinance market as the biggest opportunity for their business this year.

This was well ahead of first-time buyer mortgages (16%) and income protection (13%), with smaller proportions highlighting specialist or complex lending (5%), life insurance (4%) and home mover mortgages (3%).

Expectations around interest rates further support brokers’ confident outlook, with 92% expecting the Bank of England base rate to have fallen by the end of the year.

Despite industry concern that the FCA’s removal of the ‘advice trigger’ would lead to a rise in non-advised sales, 65% said this did not worry them.

LSL Financial Services sales director Neil Hoare said: “There’s a real sense that 2026 could be a breakout year for brokers. Confidence is high and that confidence is backed up by improving market fundaments.

“There are around 1.8 million fixed-rate deals are due to expire, which creates a huge opportunity in the refinance market for brokers, especially with rates expected to fall even lower.

“But what’s noticeable is that brokers don’t just view 2026 as an opportunity to write more mortgages, but also protection. With such a large cohort of borrowers set to refinance this year, advisers have a natural trigger point to reassess cover for customers whose circumstances may have changed significantly since they last arranged their mortgage.

“As a network, our focus is on ensuring that our brokers have the right tools at their disposal to take full advantage of those opportunities and to ensure that they end 2026 in a much stronger position than they started it.”