Aegon distances itself from executive's direct plans

Product provider Aegon has distanced itself from a view attributed to its head of marketing that advisers have been "disintermediated" and that its future lies in direct relationships with consumers.

The insurer said advisers are "central" to its business and that professional advice is "valuable" for those with access to it. It follows an interview with Deloitte Digital partner Sam Roddick on marketing website CMO.com. Deloitte worked with Aegon on developing the provider's direct-to-consumer (D2C) proposition, Retiready. According to the website, when asked what the "driving forces" behind Aegon's project were, Roddick credited the group's chief marketing officer David Macmillan. Roddick said: "David realised that the industry was changing, the brokers were being disintermedi...