UK life offices in trouble unless the FTSE rallies

The FTSE will have to rise above 5,250 if UK life offices are to regain their financial strength, according to SchroderSalomonSmithBarney. Andrew Crean, who carried out the research for the group, believes that unless markets rally to the end of the year, the life industry will be in a weakened state and unable to write new business freely. Stronger life companies could take advantage of this to increase market share, but if markets remains weak they are unlikely to be able to afford the expense of pursuing the opportunity. The FTSE now stands at around the 4,800 mark and, in the wak...