LV= pension business fuels 127% profit rise

Its life and pension business saw a £41m profit, compared to a loss of £7m in 2014.

Overall new business increased by 88% to £47 million, which LV= attributed to a strong interest in its protection, flexible guaranteed bonds, and drawdown products.

Overall pension sales saw a 26% rise, however annuity and equity release sales saw a loss of 20% and 40% respectively.

Its general insurance arm also saw an operating loss of £19m, largely driven claims relating to the December storms.

Mike Rogers, LV= Group Chief Executive, said:

“The challenging market conditions experienced in 2014 with depressed investment returns and pressure on home insurance rates, have continued in 2015.  Against this backdrop LV= has performed very strongly and delivered an operating profit of £195 million, an increase of 127% over the prior-year.

“The impact of government pensions’ reforms continues to be felt in the retirement market where we’ve seen a marked change in buying behaviour with more pensions savers shopping around for retirement income solutions. New business volumes have grown significantly and we continue to develop new products and services to position LV= at the forefront of the changing pensions environment.

“Total new business sales of £272 million were up 25% on 2014 and protection remains an area where we see potential for future growth.”