The regulator’s plan to address the protection gap is a welcome move and the market is ready to deliver better customer outcomes, industry figures have said. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its market study into the pure protection market and noted that while it would not heavily intervene in practices, it would be addressing the low take-up of protection policies. Erika Parker, actuarial director at Broadstone, said the report was positive and suggested the regulator felt that the market was “functioning well” despite the potential to close the protection gap. “Most consumers don’t have any protection at all, and a large proportion of them would benefit from it. “For a long time now, the industry has been working hard to plug this protection gap, but there’s obviously still a lot more work to do.