A Chara - In its current billboard advertising campaign, The Equitable Life Assurance Company describes commissions paid to insurance intermediaries as "taking money from pensioners".
It is misleading to portray Equitable Life's policy of not paying commission as virtuous. With other life companies which do pay commission, pension products cost the same irrespective of whether they are bought through a broker or direct from the life company itself.
Therefore, the result of Equitable Life's policy is to deprive the potential customer of the advice of an experienced, independent financial consultant before buying one of its products.
It is unfortunate that such a misleading campaign can slip through the net of the Advertising Standards Authority, particularly at a time when the reputation of brokers is at an all-time low due to the recent highly-publicised cases of fraud, which are unrepresentative of the industry as a whole. - Is mise,
James Dwyer,
Dwyer Partners Lifeand Pensions Ltd, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.