Insurer Zurich UK has pledged to continue to support advisers and says it has no existing plans to build a direct-to-consumer (D2C) offering, as the company announced mixed results for the first half of the year.
The insurer revealed in an interim statement on Thursday that H1 APE was down by a third to £252m in the first half of the year - against the same period last year - thanks in part to fewer sales of retail bonds. The ban on commission following the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) went some way to explain the lower sales, the group said. But UK Life CEO Gary Shaughnessy (pictured) said he was happy with a rise in the number of advisers using its retail platform which, combined with higher protection sales, offset the losses Zurich made on its retail bonds. He said: "We've had some ...
To continue reading this article...
Join Professional Adviser for free
- Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
- Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
- Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
- Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
- Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
- Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes