Protection sales up 14% during 2016

While overall sales improved in 2016, the last quarter of 2016 saw lower sales compared to the previous three months. For October to December £131.5 million of cover was sold, down from £139.3 million in the third quarter (-5.6%).
 
The data, which is collated from over 90 major product providers, with inputs from more than 11,000 advisers, shows that term assurance accounted for 38.7% of protection sales in 2016, while mortgage term assurance accounted for 16.5%.
 
Term policy sales grew by 102.4% compared to 2015, critical illness sales were up by 50.8%, and sales of term assurance policies with critical illness incorporated by 145.6%.

John Driscoll, Director at Equifax Touchstone, says: “Protection volumes fell in the later part of 2016 due to mortgage market declines in the third and fourth quarters. However, in a year of political upheaval, with Brexit and the US elections, the protection market as a whole remained strong and saw continued growth for the year.”