Bright Grey and Scottish Provident have reported steep falls in new protection business over the first half of the year.
The Royal London owned pair reported a combined drop in sales of 17% to £141m (on a Present Value of New Business basis) compared to £170m in the first six months of last year.
These figures continued last year's slide which eventually saw new business drop more than 10% despite a fourth quarter recovery.
The providers have seen a significant back-office realignment over the first half of the year which has resulted in, among other things, shared sales teams.
However, the Group has maintained that the brands will remain separate entities.
A statement from Royal London explained the struggling mortgage market was still the main reason for poor performance.
"The protection market continues to be very difficult for new business, not least because of the well-documented problems of the mortgage market," it said.
"The Group's protection brands have been working very hard in the first half of the year, making a number of strategic changes to help ensure a clear differentiation between Bright Grey and Scottish Provident.
"This has been an exciting and challenging process, involving significant investments to ensure we have the strongest possible propositions for advisers. The changes not only reinforce our commitment to a multi-brand strategy, they also provide an excellent platform for future success," it added.
Overall, total new business was up 11% to £1,788m compared to £1,615m at the same point last year.
Earlier this month the Group also confirmed further details of its takeover of Royal Liver.
Mike Yardley, outgoing group chief executive, was pleased with the results and noted the strong performance should see the business through an uncertain time.
"The Group has once again delivered a good set of financial results and is clearly financially robust," he said.
"We have increased the operating profit, which we believe is the best measure of performance, as well as improving the contribution from new life and pensions business.
"Markets may well continue to be volatile, but our strong capital position will help ensure that Royal London continues to deliver good performance," he added.
