Premium income down

New business figures issued by the Association of British Insurers yesterday confirmed the extent of the damage suffered by the industry as a result of the pension transfer scandal and the bad publicity about endowment policies.

Income from individual yearly premium insurances fell by 10 per cent to just under £2.6bn in 1994. New single premiums were 14 per cent lower at £9.5bn, although 1993 had been a record year. Mark Boleat, the ABI's director general, said: "The insurance industry continues to be disadvantaged by more onerous standards of regulation and poorer tax treatment than competing savings products."