Paymentshield has introduced a series of webinars to help brokers develop general insurance (GI) knowledge.

They will tackle a range of topics including how to compete and win business against online comparison sites.

A recent YouGov survey commissioned by Paymentshield found that 38% of consumers preferred to use a price comparison site to find home insurance, compared to 5% of people who said consulting a professional broker or financial adviser was their chosen method.

Meanwhile, Paymentshield’s annual broker survey, conducted in March, found 53% of brokers highlighted price comparison sites as the biggest threat to the financial services industry.

The findings also revealed that 60% of respondents are missing opportunities to sell GI, with 45% saying that less than a quarter of the advisers in their wider business actively sell GI. Last month, Paymentshield revealed that in 2019 mortgage advisers missed out on £47.8 million of untapped earnings from failing to provide a home insurance quote to every mortgage client.

Paymentshield’s webinar series is aiming to plug the knowledge gap and arm brokers with the confidence to carve out new opportunities in GI. Alongside competing against online comparison sites, the webinars will tackle subjects such as how to effectively use the Defaqto compare tool, how data-led decisions can drive sales and influence behaviour and how technology can drive a positive customer experience.

The series launches on 6 August and runs weekly until 3 September.

Emma Green, head of sales at Paymentshield, said: “We realise advisers can sometimes find it challenging to compete with internet comparison sites which focus on delivering the cheapest price but which does not necessarily translate to delivering the best advice or value for the customer.

“We have designed the webinar series to specifically target the skills and strategies necessary to empower brokers when having GI conversations with their clients.

Tools such as the Defaqto compare tool can help advisers highlight the value of their advice by comparing policies on features and benefits so they can find the right policy that truly meets the needs of the client.”