Life assurer Friends Provident has reported a 7 per cent rise in third-quarter sales at the top end of forecasts and says it is well placed despite a volatile market.
Third-quarter sales of life savings and pensions products rose to £91.9 million sterling on an annual premium equivalent basis - a standard measure used to iron out volatility.
Insurers across the world have struggled this year as a stock market slump has hit consumer demand for savings products, many of which invest heavily in equities. The bear market has also put pressure on the capital strength of insurers.
Friends Provident, the fifth-biggest life assurer in the London market's FTSE 100 index of blue chip stocks, said investor confidence was fragile.
However, it said a deal with estate agency group Countrywide Assured to sell its products, and the acquisition of a fund management business from insurer Royal & Sun Alliance, were starting to pay off.
Friends Provident shares have outperformed the DJ Stoxx European insurance sector by about 15 per cent since the start of 2002.