In terms of the top five providers in relation to the various product categories, Legal & General and Aviva together sold over 50 per cent of term assurance policies, with and without CI benefits, although by premium value this proportion is less.
The Aviva figures – amounting to 313,000 policies, and 21 per cent of the market, include sales from Friends Provident, which last year were split out, while L&G took 32 per cent of the market in terms of policies sold.
When it comes to IP, Aviva holds the top spot, selling 37,266 policies, or 31 per cent of the market.
The sales figures for other providers in the top five show the efforts some providers are making in terms of innovating with product design and marketing. AIG, for example, has made itself amenable to financial advisers with its product offering, and the company has seen a 48 per cent increase in sales of term assurance policies, to 117,000 last year. Meanwhile The Exeter, which has been heavily pushing IP, has promoted itself as a niche player. Supporting intermediaries has increased its sales by 84 per cent to 9,700.
IP is now broken down in terms of conventional IP and IP with a limited term.
Conventional IP still constitutes 51 per cent of the market, making up 62,000 policies, and growing 5.8 per cent on last year. But short-term IP is growing more rapidly, with one-year payment term growing 87 per cent and five-year term growing by 321 per cent on the previous year to 8,211 policies. The latter was in large part due to Royal London moving into the market for five-year short-term IP.
The report shows that sales of protection products via financial advisers is growing at a healthy pace. Total new individual term sales went past the £1m mark in 2017 when sold by intermediaries, a rise of 18 per cent on last year to 1.6m, while sales of CI products rose 13 per cent via advisers, to 345,000.
There was also a big increase in direct sales of CI policies of 217 per cent to 55,332, due in large part to TV advertising on Sky from Beagle Street.
Mr Wheatcroft said: "I think CI can be sold direct but it needs to be really really clear about what it covers and what it doesn't cover. Beagle Street has changed a few perceptions; it has always been that term can be sold direct, CI less so because it's more complex and IP, very, very rarely. What it's done, it shows that the hierarchy has not exactly shifted from that model but will deliver its message to younger consumers."
Melanie Tringham is features editor of Financial Adviser
