Iress has reported a continued increase in protection new business applications during the first half of 2018.
The financial technology business today (11 July) released protection sales data from The Exchange, the online comparison quote and transaction portal.
In the first six months of 2018, Iress recorded 360,693 protection new business applications, compared with 295,699 over the same period in 2017.
This represents an overall increase of 22 per cent and is measured by click-through rates from The Exchange to provider applications.
Dave Miller, executive general manager for commercial at Iress, said: "After our best ever year for protection new business applications in 2017, the half year figures suggest that 2018 will be another record-breaking year.
"This growing popularity reflects the positive steps taken by providers in the market to make products more innovative and introducing new initiatives that are engaging more people with the benefits of protection.
"Looking anecdotally at more general trends, awareness is growing all the time around our health and the impact that lifestyle choices can have on it.
"This increasing health consciousness may also be prompting more people to consider wider measures, such as protection, that can help support with health issues that may arise.”
Increasing health consciousness may also be prompting more people to consider wider measures, such as protection, that can help support with health issues that may arise.Dave MillerThe period saw growth across all main protection lines, with life term insurance and income protection seeing the largest year-on-year increase in new business, up 35.1 per cent in the first half of 2018, when compared with the first half of 2017.
Historically, volumes in the second quarter have always been lower than the first quarter with more new business placed between January and March.
However, this year income protection and multi-benefit products bucked that trend.
Income protection product sales saw an increase of 4.3 per cent during April to June compared with the first three months of the year.
The figures also indicate growth compared with the same period in the previous year, with income protection up 45.9 per cent and multi-benefit up by 29.2 per cent from the second quarter of 2017.
Scott Gallacher chartered financial planner at Leicester-based Rowley Turton, said: “The 22 per cent increase in new business applications is most likely a reflection of increased use of online tools such as The Exchange, especially if integrated with a back office system.
“Historically our paraplanners have used The Exchange and alternative sourcing system Assureweb, which were both integrated with Iress’s Adviser Office system.
“However, more recently we’ve started to switch more and more to the Exchange as Assureweb no longer seems as integrated with Adviser Office as it once was.”
aamina.zafar@ft.com
