The number of specialist risk advisers is plummeting while planner dissatisfaction with cumbersome insurance processes increases, new research reveals.

Research house Investment Trends’ annual Planner Risk Report says the percentage of advisers who derive more than 50% of their total practice revenue from insurance advice has plunged to 15%, from 34%, in just five years.

And 37% of advisers are challenged by insurers’ inefficient underwriting processes, application processes and limited integration between systems, up from 29% five years ago.

Investment Trends senior analyst King Loong Choi says the risk specialist adviser is becoming a niche in the industry as they try to diversify their advice offering.

Insurers have an opportunity to further support their advisers by improving their processes, he says.

Financial advisers use 3.9 insurers on average, out of 8.9 available on their Approved Product List. Twenty-eight per cent of advisers intend to start using a new insurer in the next 12 months, with less established brands NEOS, Integrity Life and MetLife leading in planner perceptions. TAL, Zurich and MLC Life were the most successful at extending relationships with advisers.

About 57% of advisers across the whole industry rated their main insurer as very good, compared to 48% last year. ClearView led satisfaction rankings in 18 out of 31 categories measured, securing the top spot. OnePath and Zurich were second and third.

The administration burden of compliance and paperwork and an uncertain regulatory landscape are the top challenges to growing insurance advice, Mr Choi says. About 16% of advisers say it is challenging to demonstrate the value of insurance advice to their clients, and 12% say client engagement and retention in an issue.