Life cover simplified – you’re either alive or dead

"We're of the view that term life insurance is a commodity product, or approaching commodity status, rather than a personally tailored status. I think the banks themselves, with the hold that they've got in the market, are a good illustration of that," he said.

Referring to the argument that an adviser's expertise should be sought when obtaining insurance, Vaughn said "I think there's segments of the market where that's an absolutely valid statement, and I think there are other segments of the market where it's absolute nonsense."

Vaughn also said the arguments in favour of having an adviser on board at claim time are of varying validity depending on the insurance product in question.

"I think if you're dealing with things like income protection I think that's very true, I think if you're dealing with disability insurance and some of the trauma stuff I think there's an element of truth in that, I think when you're dealing with life insurance, well you're either alive or dead, there's no debate about the issue fundamentally."