Protection is seen as a key growth area by IFAs with almost two thirds optimistic about increasing business in the sector this year.
According to a survey by Sesame Bankhall, personal and family protection is predicted as the main area of growth, while advisers are aware of the potential impact of gender neutral pricing.
Overall the outlook for protection was positive as nearly a third (31%) of respondents expected to expand their business by 10% or more in 2012 and another 30% suggested it would increase by up to 10%.
Half of the advisers (48%) envisaged personal and family protection as the market most likely to grow over the next 12 months, followed by mortgage protection (32%) and business protection (17%).
However, one in five (19%) of advisers believe that last year's ruling on the European Union Gender Directive could have a negative impact on the market.
As COVER revealed last week, insurers are still uncertain about the full impacts of the gender discrimination rules.
But it is widely expected that life insurance rates for women will increase by around 10%, with income protection rates for men likely to rise by a similar figure.
John Cupis, managing director of PMS, said: "These findings show that advisers remain confident about the protection business that they will be writing, despite the volatile climate.
"This increased protection focus by advisers also reflects a desire to diversify their product offering and business streams.
"However, there is a growing awareness amongst advisers about the EU Gender Directive, with concerns that prices will go up across the industry.
"The prospect of rising prices could contribute to a surge in protection business being written by advisers this year prior to the changes taking place," he added.
