He adds: “Aviva is probably big enough now to have done that a few times. They know the mistakes to avoid. So I'd imagine they've been quite capable of doing it.
“Royal London has done it as well both ways, [buying and selling].”
To enable as smooth an integration as possible and to avoid loss of adviser clients and policyholders, Knowles says the acquiring insurer needs to clearly communicate with advisers and their clients what is happening, and also offer clear guidance around any wording change to documents, such as policies and terms and conditions.
Knowles says: “[It is about providing advisers] with that confidence to say to their clients, ‘This is happening, please don't be concerned. I'm here. Chat to me anytime you want to’. I think that's probably the key thing because some adviser firms just won't know what to do.”
Ima Jackson-Obot is deputy features editor of FTAdviser
