Legal & General saw its protection premium income and new business rise in 2024 as it highlighted a “highly competitive market”.
The insurer also noted in its annual report published today that its individual protection customer base had hit 5.4 million lives, with 1.5 million in the USA.
Its combined protection new business value under Solvency II calculations for group and individual markets rose 16% to £192m from £165m in 2023.
Meanwhile gross protection premiums across its UK retail, UK group and US protection businesses all rose.
UK individual protection
UK retail protection gross premium income was up slightly to £1.53bn from £1.51bn, with new business annual premiums of £153m, up from £150m, “at improved margins in what remained a highly competitive market”, the insurer said.
It also claimed an increased year-on-year market share of 19% according to Association of British Insurers (ABI) data.
L&G’s annual report added that it was “helping our 5.4 million customers plan for the unexpected”.
UK group protection
The UK group protection gross premium income rose 10% to £528m from £479m which L&G said was owing to good retention, although new business annual premiums of £110m were down from £121m in 2023.
It has more than 2,400 SME employers using is Onix online quote and apply system, processing around 1,900 new applications over the year compared to 1,000 the previous year.
L&G added it had helped to support 77% of all employee group income protection claims back into the workplace before the end of the deferred period with 2,466 members returning to work in 2024.
“During 2024, we continued to invest in our health and wellbeing provision, ensuring a comprehensive care pathway is available for both the everyday and the moments that matter the most for employers and their employees,” it said.
US protection
In February L&G announced it was selling its US protection arm to Japan-based insurer Meiji Yasuda as part of a transaction worth around £1.8bn ($2.3bn).
In the latest results, the US arm’s gross premiums increased 6% to $1.69bn from $1,58bn, with new business annual premiums up 16% to $203m from $175m in 2023.
“In the US, our protection business serves over 1.5 million customers, and is well positioned to capitalise on further growth opportunities as it joins Meiji Yasuda Group,” the insurer said in its report.
“We have outperformed the market in 2024 and achieved record volumes as the third largest term insurance provider in the US.”
‘Strong protection perfromance’
Commenting on the results, Legal & General group CEO António Simões noted the protection businesses “performed strongly both in the UK and US”.
“Our US protection business is high performing and has grown rapidly in recent years,” he said.
“Strategically though, it offered limited synergies with the rest of our business and the recent announcement in February 2025, to sell this business allows us to unlock substantial value for the group at attractive multiples, and to reallocate capital to areas of strategic growth.”
Overall, Legal & General’s pre-tax profit more than doubled, rising by 177% or £347m, to £542m from £195m in 2023.
This was largely helped by the sale of Cala Group, based on a value of £1.35bn, around £70m of which will come through as profit, and also includes the £110m write-down of its shareholding in Salary Finance.