Standard Life sales boosted by pensions

STANDARD Life Ireland recorded a 16% rise in new premium sales in 2002, driven by an increased market share of pensions and with profits products.

The Edinburgh-based company said new business growth in Ireland was strong and market share had increased. It is also planning to launch a Personal Retirement Savings Account in mid-2003 to compete with Irish financial institutions.

The company, unusually, did not give a breakdown of the profitability of its Irish business.

Standard Life's chief executive Iain Lumsden said overall, 2002 was a challenging year but he described the company's financial strength as "excellent".

He said business has grown in each of its markets in 2002 with new annual premium equivalent the standard industry measure used to iron out volatility exceeding stg£1.8 billion, up 16% on the previous year.

He said the stg£1.7bn of bonuses paid or added to policies in 2002 was almost exactly the same as in 2001.

Mr Lumsden said maturing policies were boosted by strong equity weightings throughout the 1990s when stock markets were rising but "smoothing" the practice of using a mix of shares and bonds to reduce the impact of falls on the equity markets protected funds from the full effects of share price falls.

Standard Life denied reports that it faces a potential bill of stg£4.8 billion to endowment mortgage holders.

Newspaper reports yesterday said the insurer was writing to 1.5 million endowment policy holders to tell them if they face a shortfall to pay of their mortgage.