Legal & General's volume of UK retail protection sales were lower at £38m (Q1 2014: £42m) compared to a strong first quarter of 2014, its first quarter results for 2015 have shown.
However Legal & General said it's direct to customer new business more than doubled compared to Q1 2014.
Meanwhile UK group protection sales for Q1 2015 fell to £18m (Q1 2014: £20m.)
The decrease in sales compared to the previous period was due to the insurer benefitting from one large contract in Q1 2014, L&G said aid.
Meanwhile, total UK Protection gross written premiums increased by 5% to £372m (Q1 2014: £353m).
In its the financial statement, L&G said: "We see further opportunities in the UK Insurance market with our retail protection business securing further intermediary distribution arrangements in Q2 2015 and a strong group protection sales pipeline. We expect new business volumes and margins across our UK protection businesses for 2015 to be broadly in line with 2014"
Meanwhile, across the group Legal & General (L&G) revealed it had generated a 'record' £330m in cash as a result of changes to its business following pension reforms.
The group's operational cash income, driven by its assets under management and its premiums, was up 11% year on year in the first three months of 2015.
Additionally, annuity sales had fallen from £244m to £99m, following pension reforms set out in the Budget.
Nigel Wilson, group chief executive of L&G, said: "Legal & General's cash generation in Q1 of 2015 was a record, operational cash of £330m was up 11% year on year. Cash is driven by our stock of assets and premiums, which we have grown strongly and consistently across our businesses. LGIM assets increased 17% to £737bn, annuity assets increased 19% to £46bn and direct investment increased 62% to £6.3bn.
"We are constantly developing, evolving and streamlining our business to deliver better value products for customers and better returns for investors. We have set a high bar for management actions and performance including our cost reduction target of £80m this year.
"Our business is aligned to long term macro growth trends. We are adapting well to regulatory and political challenges, for example, managing the switch to 'pension freedom' with a new range of cash and retirement products, which now includes lifetime mortgages. The Group is benefiting as we leverage our leading position in pension de-risking, selectively expand our international footprint in the US and Asia, and invest in the future success of the UK through our partnership in Media City in Salford and entry into the private rental sector in 2015."
