Fee-only advisors are dealing with clients who are in frequent need of life insurance products, according to a new survey.
   What remains to be seen is whether or not advisors will take a more active role in meeting that demand-or continue to pass clients off to insurance specialists.
   "In many cases advisors are forced to refer their clients away because they do not understand or do not have access to insurance-based products," according to the survey's authors.
   The survey by Ameritas Direct, a division of Ameritas Life Insurance, found that 80% of 160 advisors surveyed believe their clients have a need for life insurance products.
   The survey also found that 60% of advisors have a frequent or occasional need for annuity-based products, and two-thirds of respondents prefer to offer no-load annuity and life insurance products.
   A third of surveyed advisors said they were worried that the life insurance provider they recommend to their clients will compete for their business.
   "Clients are becoming increasingly more sophisticated about investment products and fees," says Catherine S. McBreen, managing director of Spectrem Group, which carried out the study for Ameritas Direct. "As affluent investors continue to turn toward fee-based advisors, the need for no-load products will continue to rise."