Equitable Life H1 solvency up 8%

The insurer says its excess realistic assets, the key measure of solvency, jumped to £849m, from £786m in H1 last year – but the figure is lower than the £884m at the end of 2006. “After many years of hard work and difficult decisions, the strategic initiatives that the society has taken are delivering real improvements to the prospects for policyholders,” Equitable Life chairman Vanni Treves says. He also says the agreement with Prudential to transfer with-profits annuity policies, which has worried action groups, is a “major step forward” for annuitants. Equitable Life chief executive ...