One of the most powerful financial services brands, Standard Life, has decided that protection is no longer for them and has announced its immediate withdrawal from the UK protection market. 

Standard Life cites the fiercely price competitive market and the inability to make a new business profit as reasons for its withdrawal. It is true that the market is fiercly competitive but surely before throwing in the towel it might have been worth them showing the same level of commitment to protection as it has shown in the investment market.At the same time it looks like Scottish Widows could also be about to pull the protection rug from under the feet of the IFA. While there has been no formal announcement that the firm is no longer supporting the IFA distribution channel it is no longer prepared to offer quotations through industry portals. This move that effectively puts them outside of the loop and makes their position, at least with IFAs untenable.Standard Lifes decision could be seen as a reflection of a realisation that shareholders have very different demands from policyholders. Scottish Widows, on the other hand, has bigger fish to fry. As part of Lloyds TSB group it can now turn its protection focus to the banks 16 million or so personal customers.

I dont think the withdrawal of these two big boys from the IFA market will have any major impact other than to add to the generally negative perception of the protection industry. Both punched well below their brand weights when it came to protection. This is unsurprising because neither has demonstrated the commitment and product innovation that is needed to provide a quality balance in the price driven IFA market.

Good luck to both of them as they look to make hay in the investment field. I just hope that the investment markets dont collapse around them!