Standard Life's sales surge

THE Equitable Life debacle has proved a bonus for Europe's largest mutual life assurer Standard Life as a flight to quality among savers helped power the group to a record year for new business.

The Edinburgh-based group, which last year saw off a challenge to its mutual status, also believes the introduction of stakeholder pensions drove up awareness of retirement savings and helped its pension sales soar 77% in the year to 15 October. Pension and annuity sales surged 98% to £2bn, while the group's individual pension sales rose 60% to £2bn.

Overall Standard Life, which has about £80bn under management, reported that worldwide new business premiums rose 61% to £8.3bn, with new premium income in its core British market ahead 76% to £6.3bn.

Sales of its with-profits bonds leaped to £1.4bn, but its mortgage book was virtually static at £5.56bn. Standard Life has 2.4m members, a net gain of 120,000.