Significantly higher numbers of people who receive financial advice regularly check that their insurance arrangements still meet their needs, a survey finds.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission survey of what consumers think of financial advice found that 77% of consumers who got financial advice in the last 12 months agree that they regularly check their insurance, investments and credit arrangements. This compared to only 62% of Australians who didn’t get financial advice.

Seventy-four per cent of those who planned to get advice over the next year check their insurance arrangements regularly, compared to 62% who didn’t plan to get advice.

Only 12% of Australians received advice in the last 12 months, but 41% intended to get advice in the future, the survey says. Twenty-five per cent of those intended to get advice within the next year, while 20% had considered getting advice in the past 12 months but had not. And 44% were not intending to get advice.

Of people who were considering getting financial advice, 35% thought the expensive cost of financial advice would make them reconsider.

Almost half of survey respondents think financial advisers are more interested in making themselves rich than helping customers, and 37% think advisers do not have the best interests of their customers at heart. Yet even limited knowledge of recent financial advice reforms has improved perceptions of the financial advice industry.