Protection sales have grown during 2018 with income protection performing particularly well, according to a fintech company's transaction data.
Iress reported protection applications submitted through its transaction portal hit more than half a million from January to the end of September - increasing by 22 per cent to 550,479 compared with 450,930 over the same period last year.
Income protection performed particularly well with sales so far this year increasing by 36 per cent compared with last year's figures.
Iress reported term life and multi-benefit products had also grown, up 33.6 per cent and 29.9 per cent respectively so far this year.
The fintech firm suggested sale volumes in the second and third quarters were typically lower than the first, but the trend bucked this year with August a particularly strong month for new protection business.
August saw the highest protection sales of any month so far this year, with 64,776 new applications submitted through Iress's portal.
The figures were measured using click-through rates from Iress's transaction portal to protection provider applications.
Dave Miller, executive general manager at Iress, said 2018 continued to build on the record-breaking figures for protection new business applications seen in 2017.
He said: "This trend for growth in protection sales is hugely encouraging. I believe there’s a combination of factors contributing to this.
"Much-needed inroads have been made to close the protection gap, for example, with providers offering innovative products to better cater for those with certain health criteria or conditions who may otherwise struggle to obtain life insurance cover at a reasonable price.
"We are also seeing providers embracing technology to reduce time and complexity for the end customer, something which younger generations in particular have come to expect in today’s instant access, digital world."
rachel.addison@ft.com
