Sales in protection grew last year, but not even close to the extent of that of mortgage sales, shows a survey carried out by Guardian.

Of the just over 550 advisers asked, 81 per cent said that they had seen mortgage demand rise due to the stamp duty holiday, and 72 per cent replied that mortgage sales had grown.

However, despite 91 per cent of advisers saying that they ‘always discussion’ protection, just 48 per cent of survey participants said that protection sales had gone up.

The biggest reason given for protection sales not going through was that clients wanted to revisit the topic later, which 42 per cent of respondents answered with. The second biggest reason, at 21 per cent, was that clients simply didn’t want to discuss it. Just 4 per cent of clients believe protection to be unnecessary.

This, says Guardian, is a huge opportunity for advisers in 2021, especially when coupled with the survey result that shows 75 per cent of advisers reporting clients being more open to discussing protection since Covid appeared in the UK.

Guardian marketing and proposition director Jacqui Gillies says: “This research shows a discrepancy between mortgage and protection sales last year, which poses a big opportunity for advisers as they go into 2021.

“We hope all advisers will follow-up if a client says ‘I want to come back to it’ to make sure people are getting the protection they need.

“This follow-up conversation is not only right for the customer, but for advisers too as they look to continue to provide their valuable advice through these times of uncertainty and change.”