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Consumers investing less in life insurance - News 2009
Life insurance products are becoming less of a priority for consumers struggling to cope with the effects of the recession and changes to the UK tax system.
That is according to figures published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI), which indicated that dwindling household finances and revisions to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) made last year are prompting consumers to spend less on long-term insurance products.
Provisional findings for 2008 suggested that the total net premium income for life insurance and pensions was £97.7 billion in 2008, down two per cent compared to the previous year.
Breaking this down, however, the ABI indicated that pensions continue to fare well, while life cover income fell by 22 per cent to just £34.4 billion.
Benefits paid out to customers rose by 12 per cent, according to the statistics, from £113 billion in 2007 to £126.8 billion last year.
Dr Rebecca Driver, director of research at the UK's insurance industry trade body, said: "The fall in life insurance investments was to some extent unavoidable.
The Government’s ill-judged changes to CGT have hit the insurance bond market and we are seeing the effects of those changes here.”
For the 2008-09 and 2009-10 fiscal years, CGT will be charged at a single rate of 18 per cent.
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