LV= sees protection sales boost
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LV= has seen a 16 per cent increase in protection business as it reports life sales of £69.3m for the first half of the year.
The provider has seen life sales for the first half of 2011 grow by 9 per cent on an APE basis, from £63.5m for the same period last year.
Protection business on an APE basis has gone from £11.5m to £13.4m.
LV= says the protection boost has been largely driven by changes to its critical-illness cover in March, which included an increase in the maximum age to 70 and an increase in the maximum term to 40 years for guaranteed and renewable premiums.
Retirement business on an APE basis is up 11 per cent from £48.3m to £53.5m.
Annuities business, which includes enhanced, with-profits and fixed term annuity plans, is up 14 per cent from £21.4m to £24.3m. Pensions business has seen a 10 per cent increase from £23m to £25.2m, while equity release is up slightly from £3.9m to £4m.
LV= life managing director Richard Rowney (pictured) believes the growth seen in the life business is sustainable despite a period of change for the industry with the upcoming introduction of the RDR, Solvency II, and the European Court of Justice ruling on gender.
He says: “Would we prefer regulatory change in some of its forms not to be happening? Absolutely. But let us not be in denial. RDR and Solvency II are going to happen. We use that as an opportunity to drive product innovation, and to look at ways we can help advisers and consumers.
“A lot of people saw the change to remove compulsory annuity purchase at age 75 as a potential negative and frustration. We saw it as an opportunity to show how quickly we respond.
“There is the cost of compliance with regulation, but that is more than offset by the overall profit performance we are seeing.”
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