Another key business challenge to emerge was securing professional indemnity insurance. 52% of users found securing cover more difficult, and 62% said it had become much more expensive. Half of all respondents found the renewal process more difficult than the previous year.
This year’s census saw responses from more than 180 Nucleus users, providing insights into their firms and the wider financial services sector.
Nucleus surveys its users every year for the census, which is designed to both engage with its users and ensure the platform is delivering what clients need. The census also helps advisers gauge their progress and highlights the challenges advice firms are facing.
Barry Neilson, chief customer officer at Nucleus (pictured), said:
“Our latest census has found advisers are increasingly concerned about their ability to sustain and grow their current capacity. But it has also shown they are increasingly looking for new creative ways to communicate with clients, which will enable them to increase the time spent on their business. Advisers’ experience through Covid-19 is likely to embed this shift towards virtual communication and allow advisers to more frequently check in with their clients, perhaps instead of holding one or two face-to-face meetings a year.
“From our census we also now have hard data on how difficult it is for advisers to find PI cover, both in terms of availability and affordability. The lack of options is clearly putting advisers and planners in a position where they need to spend excessive amounts of money on cover which could have gone to servicing their clients or on business development.”
