Simple protection products need baseline standards and a goverment recognised stamp of approval, according to the chairman of trade body Protect.
These should be twinned with the publishing of complaints and claims statistics and incentives to encourage people to take out personal protection, Steve Divine believes.
In his personal response to the Treasury discussion paper on simplified financial products which closed today, Devine applauded the government's ideas.
However, he cautioned these should not come at the expense of innovation, while suggesting strict regulation in the wake of payment protection insurance (PPI) problems could suffocate its plans.
"There is absolutely no benefit in all products being the same and there must be some fresh thinking about how value can be promoted on product league tables and comparison tables," he explains.
"I feel that regulation has become too onerous, largely because of the continued focus on PPI since 2005 and that the stand alone short term income protection insurance market must be allowed to grow. It is the closest product to being a mass market safety net for the employed population.
"This will not happen if it is treated as PPI by the FSA, Competition Commission and OFT," he warned.
The Treasury paper also asked if the initiative should be government or industry led and how sufficient protection for consumers can be guaranteed.
Devine identified the State as a key stakeholder which should be involved but recognised that the industry, in co-ordination with other stakeholders, should be the driving force.
"I would suggest two working groups - a steering group to oversee the initiative and a technical group made up of experts and practitioners that could develop, maintain and police the baseline specification," he continued.
"I have had experience of working on both such groups on the Sustainable Home Ownership Initiative.
"Publishing complaints numbers and claims statistics would prove that the products were working or not and this would help underline the importance of service and value while helping wean consumers off price alone comparisons," he adds.
Devine also suggested younger people were the most important sector to aim these products at and urged government to incentivise the new regime.
"There is already a vast protection gap, which will get wider if we don't introduce simple and affordable mass market products very soon.
"The level of savings is at an all time low so we should look at incentivising and rewarding responsible behaviour and strategies to help protect families and individuals when they need it most," he concludes.
