ProtectionMay 12 2016

Providers ‘bullish’ on protection after strong Q1

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Providers ‘bullish’ on protection after strong Q1

Strong protection insurance sales in the first quarter from Aegon and Royal London have prompted confidence from providers and advisers.

Last week Aegon UK reported first quarter profits of £18.2m, reversing losses in the previous three months.

It attributed the rise to an increase in sales of protection, sales of which increased by 18 per cent.

Dougy Grant, Aegon UK’s protection director, said its first quarter performance was also driven by the introduction of a revamped sales model last year.

Meanwhile, Royal London saw life and pensions business of £2.09bn in the first quarter, up 52 per cent year-on-year.

Protection sales via intermediaries reached £147m, an increase of 37 per cent on the first quarter last year, while direct-to-consumer sales reached £67m, a rise of 179 per cent.

Debbie Kennedy, head of protection at Royal London, said: “I’m optimistic about the protection market. We are currently looking at ways we can use advances in technology to improve the underwriting journey to make the process simpler and quicker for the benefit of both advisers and customers.”

Adviser view:

Mark Dennison, principal at LightBlue UK, said if insurers were seeing better sales figures, it was hopefully a sign that protection as a whole was on the up, rather than just benefiting a few firms.

“It seems brokers are becoming more aware of the need for protection advice as the bedrock of good financial planning and the important role protection plays in it. This will lead to providers seeing stronger sales.”

peter.walker@ft.com