End of child trust funds hits Engage premiums

The Harrogate-based friendly society said it received £29.8m, down from £32.8m in the same period last year.

It attributed the decline to the Government’s withdrawal of child trust funds.

The amount paid out to customers also fell. Claims totalled £49.8m during the first six months of 2012, down 18 per cent on the £60.9m paid out in the same period of 2011.

This was driven by a sharp decrease in investment payouts. Engage paid out £27.2m during the period, down from £38.5m.

A spokeswoman said: “The first half of last year saw a lot of savings maturities that we haven’t seen repeated this year.”

Meanwhile, Engage hailed “a strong overall new business performance” led by sales of over-50s guaranteed life insurance. This delivered a £2.9m total new annualised premium income, up from £2.4m against last year.

Engage, led by CEO Andrew Haigh, said its capital strength remained in excess of three times the required regulatory level. It increased staff numbers by 14 to 203 during the period.

Mr Haigh said he was pleased with the results, which provide “a strong platform for the ongoing development of the business”.