Is it better to DIY Insurance or get a FA?

As an FA myself, I would be voting for having an FA instead of DIY.

The insurance industry is highly regulated. Rules, products and services changes quickly all the time. Even as an FA, I find it difficult to keep track of these changes and how it affects my portfolio if I'm not in the industry myself.

I understand that some people might feel that FAs are not any smarter than they are and everything that we can do, they can do it too. That's because there are so many different FAs in the industry with varying skills and experience. If you find a good one, who is interested in a committed relationship with you, I'm 100% sure you'll see the value of having an FA manage your portfolio instead of DIY.

Someone mentioned that such an FA is an extremely rare breed and I completely agree. There are also a good number who are really competent and places your interests above theirs. I strongly believe in building a quality relationship with my clients because I am committed to manage their portfolio throughout the entirety of their life (unless I leave this world before they do).

Besides the motivation of an FA, other reasons to get from them are:

1) most insurance companies won't allow someone to buy directly. They will still assign a random FA to you. This is worse because you can't choose who this FA is (got to keep your fingers crossed that he/she has your best interest in mind).

2) there is no harm listening to what an FA has to say. Do your own research at the same time (unless you have an FA that you trust fully). You're paying the same price anw.

3) it's hard to keep track of all your different policies, their values and their maturity dates.

There are many other reasons that are valid and has alr been pointed out by other users. The reason why i became an FA is because I enjoy talking about sustainable finance for the average consumer. I want them to be able to fully commit to their day job while I can fully commit to their financial well-being.

I would suggest that you keep exploring and find someone that is competent, trustworthy and will not leave the industry. Not easy to find, but it'll be worth it!

Whilst I am by no means against FAs, they provide a very valuable service. I believe you should learn first and then when you have money and are too busy in life then FAs are great, they also give you access to products.

I run a financial coaching business, it's a new concept in Asia but it's pretty much what you are asking for. The idea is that I work with clients over 6 months, completely personalized and one on one so by the end of the 6 months you have confidence in what you are investing in. Let me know and we can chat if interested!!! https://cafecashflow.com

Will DPI cheaper than via agent? I contact Aviva and they pass my contact to an agent

Ever since buying my first insurance policy in 2006, I've met and worked with several agents for the last 14 years. Many of them have already left the industry as this is a very high turnover profession, and I'm passed on to an agent who is only interested in selling more policies to me. I don't blame them because their time is their money and I'll do the same as well.

Understand that most of your contact with them happens before you make the purchase - unless of cos you find someone genuinely interested in helping you (a very very very rare breed, good luck in finding one). So if you are already doing a lot of the research on your own, the benefits of getting DIY insurance (cost savings) outweigh getting it from an agent. As you can see from my experience, there are too many uncertainties in the long term when you work with agents.