Little-known changes to the way provider tax is calculated under Solvency II will push up premiums with no added benefit to customers, LV='s head of protection says.

The Treasury could still hit its budget deficit target for the year despite worse-than-expected January public borrowing figures, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) says.

Solvency II will spur a wave of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity among insurers, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) predicts.

Aviva has been forced to improve its with-profits literature after an IFA criticised the information given to policyholders approaching their 10th anniversary.

Higher-rate tax payers should pile cash into their pensions this year, as it may not be possible to get 40% tax relief in the future, says the managing director of Alan Steel Asset Management (ASAM).

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has been forced to upscale its workload figures as the number of new complaints continues to rise.

The Association of IFAs (AIFA) should be ashamed - not proud - of its part in reducing the minimum adviser qualification level, according to the managing director of Smart Financial Planning.

Lifemark, the life settlement vehicle embroiled in the collapse of Keydata, has been given a further six months to restructure.

Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in European financial services, excluding government-led deals, sunk to its lowest levels for six years in 2009, according to figures from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) says it is prepared to work with Ken Davy's newly-formed Alternative Assessment Project Group, but only once the FSA has firmed up its evaluation criteria for getting to Level 4 standard.