Prudential to retain £8.7 billion inherited estate
by Gill Montia
Story link: Prudential to retain £8.7 billion inherited estate
Prudential has announced that its plans to return part of its £8.7 billion with-profits surplus to policyholders and shareholders are being shelved.
Around 4.5 million policyholders could have benefited from the reattribution of the company’s so-called inherited estate which has accrued because Prudential has held back a proportion of its investment returns during profitable years, to […]
Genetic testing moratorium extended to 2014
by Gill Montia
Story link: Genetic testing moratorium extended to 2014
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is extending its moratorium on the use of predictive genetic testing, to 2014.
The moratorium was established in 2001 and covers policies worth up to £500,000 for life insurance; £300,000 for critical illness insurance and £30,000 a year for income protection insurance.
The extension leaves consumers free to apply for […]
Wesleyan appoints BUPA to protection panel
by Gill Montia
Story link: Wesleyan appoints BUPA to protection panel
Wesleyan Assurance Society, which specialises in insuring the medical, dental, legal and teaching professions, has appointed Bupa Individual Protection (BIP) to its protection panel.
From this month, BIP life and critical illness products, which have recently attained a five star accreditation from Defaqto, will be available to the society’s members.
According to Callum Girvan, Wesleyan’s Director […]
New commercial division at Heath Lambert
by Richard Kilner
Story link: New commercial division at Heath Lambert
A new specialist division is being launched by Heath Lambert Group.
The Heath Lambert Commercial Affinity and Select Business Division will focus upon small businesses and commercial affinities.
The firm’s chief executive officer, Adrian Colosso, has expressed his pleasure at the new division’s creation, adding that it was one further step along Heath Lambert’s long-term plan to […]
Fortis launches UK life business
by Gill Montia
Story link: Fortis launches UK life business
Fortis has launched Fortis Life UK, in a bid to expand its UK business.
The new division will be headed by Martin Werth, former business development manager with Munich Re.
Shanti Duggal, former head of e-business for Friends Provident Life & Pensions, has been appointed operations director.
Although Fortis currently sells protection products to markets outside the […]
Life insurance most important policy for consumers
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Life insurance most important policy for consumers
Prudential has conducted research that reveals people would sooner relinquish non-essential goods/services such as mobile phone contracts before surrendering their payment protection or life insurance policies.
Recent fears regarding the credit crunch and rising energy and foods costs has led to people looking for ways to cut back, especially given the new worries about the prospect […]
Brits prefer mobile phones to life insurance
by Gill Montia
Story link: Brits prefer mobile phones to life insurance
Life and pensions company Friend Provident, has found that 54% of people questioned in its Protection Survey had no life insurance.
Of the 46% of respondents with life insurance, the majority (nearly seven in ten) said they would seek professional advice when considering cover and that they would do this by consulting a financial adviser, or […]
Axa pilot project aims to close protection gap
by Gill Montia
Story link: Axa pilot project aims to close protection gap
AXA has launched a new training project aimed at helping independent financial advisers (IFAs) sell protection insurance.
The insurer has joined forces with Chisenhale Consulting, the sales training and development firm, to run a pilot programme that comprises a number of modules promoting the importance of client discussions on protection cover.
Participating IFAs will have the opportunity […]
Friends Provident: sale or break-up?
by Gill Montia
Story link: Friends Provident: sale or break-up?
Friends Provident, the life and pensions company that recently failed in its attempt to merge with closed life funds administrator Resolution, is undertaking a strategic review.
The company’s chief executive, Philip Moore, resigned this week in the face of criticism over his handling of the merger plans.
These were scuppered once Resolution became the centre of a […]
Guaranteed premiums give boost to whole life
by Gill Montia
Story link: Guaranteed premiums give boost to whole life
Life Direct, the independent financial adviser, is raising awareness of the benefits of whole life insurance.
According to Steve Wroe, a spokesperson for Life Direct, most people opt for term insurance when taking out life cover because they are not aware that premiums on life policies can be guaranteed.
Until recently, whole of life policies had renewable […]
TA recruits warned of life premium loading
by Gill Montia
Story link: TA recruits warned of life premium loading
Potential recruits to the Territorial Army (TA) should consider the impact such a commitment could have on their life insurance premiums.
The TA is part of the UK’s reserve land forces and supports the Regular Army at home and overseas.
Almost every major operation undertaken by the British Army receives input from the TA, which carries out […]
Prudential and Discovery launch Pru Protection
by Gill Montia
Story link: Prudential and Discovery launch Pru Protection
Prudential has extended it partnership with the South African group, Discovery, to form Pru Protection Holdings, which aims to secure an initial 10% share of the UK life insurance and protection market.
In the next few days, Prudential is launching 25 protection plans covering life insurance, critical illness, income protection and disability insurance.
The policies will be […]
Saga/AA To Merge After Proposals Given Green Light
by Stewart Douglas
Story link: Saga/AA To Merge After Proposals Given Green Light
The merger of Saga financial services and the AA is on track to be completed next week after having received the green light from competition authorities, which would see the brands establishing a cross-selling platform for insurance and breakdown cover packages.
The deal, worth an estimated £6 billion (approximately $12 billion) will be concluded through the […]
Standard Life bounces back
by Gill Montia
Story link: Standard Life bounces back
Standard Life is expected to record first-half profits of £350m this week.
The forecast is well ahead of earlier market expectations of £327m and compares with profit of £206m in the first half of 2005/06.
In the past six months the company’s investment management activities have produced a strong performance and sales of self-invested personal pensions […]
Standard charges misled endowment mortgagers
by Gill Montia
Story link: Standard charges misled endowment mortgagers
Insurance companies that sold endowment mortgages during the late 1980s and early 1990s could be liable for a proportion of claims totalling £200 million.
Over 200,000 consumers, who took out endowment mortgages at that time, could be eligible to make claims because insurers’ marketing material did not fully illustrate the impact of charges on future policy […]
Standard Life beats City expectations
by Gill Montia
Story link: Standard Life beats City expectations
Standard Life, the UK’s fifth largest insurer, recorded a 31% increase in profit in the first-half of 2007; a result well above analysts’ expectations.
Worldwide life and pensions sales for the period amounted to almost £8.2 billion. UK life and pensions sales increase 45%, to £6.95 billion, over the six month period, with a boom in […]
Pearl stalks Resolution merger plans
by Gill Montia
Story link: Pearl stalks Resolution merger plans
Closed life fund manager, Resolution, has been defending its planned merger with Friends Provident after Pearl, a major shareholder, increased its ownership of Resolution to almost 16% by acquiring shares and derivatives.
The move by Pearl, which like Resolution has specialised in consolidating closed life funds, has sparked rumours that it may seek to block the […]
Standard Life returns cash to policyholders
by Gill Montia
Story link: Standard Life returns cash to policyholders
Standard Life is to begin the process of returning some of its surplus cash to policyholders.
The company has a surplus of around £1.3 billion in its with-profits fund and the redistribution should increase the value of some pension plans and endowment policies by several hundred pounds.
Some of the £1.3 billion will be held back as […]
Friends Financial emerges from merger talks
by Gill Montia
Story link: Friends Financial emerges from merger talks
Friends provident and Resolution have successfully negotiated an £8.5 billion merger that will take the form of an all-share transaction.
The merged companies will be called Friends Financial and will rival Legal & General and Standard Life in terms of its size and assets.
The move will give Friends Provident access to capital, while Resolution, which is […]
Resolution and Friends Provident in merger talks
by Gill Montia
Story link: Resolution and Friends Provident in merger talks
Friends Provident and Resolution Life, the UK’s biggest manager of closed life funds, are reported to be in the early stages of talks on a merger that could create an £8.3 billion group.
Friends Provident is the UK’s fourth largest life insurer and is also the majority owner of F&C, the asset management firm.
Resolution and Friends […]
