Legal & General life sales up 34 per cent

Legal & General has increased its sales of Whole of Life policies for Inheritance Tax Planning by 34 per cent, from Q4 2008 to Q4 2009. Annual premium equivalent (APE) has also increased by 14 per cent.

Bonnie Burns, director, product and technical at Legal & General said: “There has been a huge interest in Whole of Life policies as people seek to protect their estates. In uncertain times when money and personal wealth is at risk, people focus more on what they have got to lose, particularly those with higher value estates. Despite speculation about the future of IHT thresholds, IHT is likely to remain a concern to many people well into the future.

“Our pricing is highly competitive at this end of the market and with a guaranteed premium product we offer an element of certainty as well. Coupled with our dedicated processing of these applications within our High Net Worth teams, we believe advisers will be hard pressed to look elsewhere for their IHT planning solutions.”

Legal & General re-launched its Inheritance Tax (IHT) proposition with a re-price of its Whole of Life Protection Plan in September 2009 and the introduction of a Trust range with supporting completion guides in October.

It also introduced Adviser Sales aids and new customer facing materials and a ‘fast-track’ processing service for IHT cases with cover over GBP 200,000. Legal & General’s Whole of Life product offers guaranteed premiums throughout life and pays out a lump sum on death.