or never visit a bank branch. Financial planners are typically employed by the bank or building society rather than the life company and usually receive a basic salary plus a bonus element based on a combination of factors including sales volumes, persistence, and product mix. Following the reform of the polarisation regime, banks will have the possibility to become multi-tied distributors offering a range of products from different providers. This has the potential to strengthen the position of bancassurers by allowing them to meet their customers' needs. Conclusion Bancassurance plays a major role in worldwide insurance and dominates several major European markets such as France and Italy. Its market share is expected to accrue with the deregulation taking place in several Asian countries and in the UK. Bancassurance encompasses a variety of business models. These business models generally fall into three categories: Integrated models (where the bancassurance activity is closely tied to the banking business). Advice-based models (where there is less integration and the distribution is based on using professional insurance advisers to sell to the clients of the bank). Open architecture models. The business model tends to impact all aspects of the bancassurance activity including the company structure, sales and marketing, product design, and sales remuneration. In most countries, bancassurance has tended to see a gradual evolution in the products offered from a protection business closely related to the banks lending activity to a general savings business and finally to a wider range of protection products. In many countries, the choice of a business model is influenced by regulatory constraints (e.g., the minimum qualification required to sell insurance products, the type of products that banks are allowed to sell, or the nature of the relationship between banks and insurance companies). Bancassurance can be an efficient distribution mechanism with potentially higher sales and lower costs than traditional, segregated, distribution channels, in other words, in additional cost and revenue synergies. These advantages are positively correlated to the degree of integration of the banking and insurance products, although there is no evidence showing the precise extent of the relationship between the two. The collapse of Fortis in Belgium, and the withdrawal of other players from the bancassurance market, since the crisis, has led to a reduced level of interest in this area. References External links Bancassurance on Investopedia Separation of investment and retail banking Types of insurance