These insurers may at least have given a safe place to the money, but they have profited and participated in the misery that has been heaped on the consumers.
So what is the regulator doing about that? Is it asking proper questions about the due diligence that was done when insurers accepted transfers through advisers that were clearly unscrupulous?
And why aren’t insurers on the hook for the liabilities for consumers who were the victim of failed firms?
Poor regulation is killing good independent advice, meaning that good businesses are dying out with bad ones. That’s not capitalism, it is market failure.
Equity release popularity rising
I think 2021 will be the year that equity release hits the mainstream as a core part of financial planning.
The pandemic, the focus on social care reform, and sharply rising house prices have focused the minds of wealthier households who, able to live longer, now want to do something productive with their home.
Equity release has moved on from being a product for the cash poor or those facing sudden large bills, to families who want to tax plan and pass on inheritance.
But that means an increased focus on the morality of this, and it will get even greater attention from regulators and the Treasury.
Social media boasting
The fuel crisis will not have stopped financial advisers from going about their business – at least based on the evidence on Twitter.
Sometimes it seems like almost every financial planner on there is boasting about his new Tesla and/or the expensive road bike they have just acquired.
There may be a shortage of petrol, but there is plenty of smugness to go around.
James Coney is money editor of the Times and Sunday Times
