Aviva has said 85% of its new business value is unaffected by changes brought on by the RDR.

Friends Life total new business rose 52% in Q1 compared to a year earlier, with sales from parent company Resolution's newly aquired businesses driving performance.

Bailed-out Lloyds Banking Group has made a £3.2bn provision for the cost of mis-selling payment protection insurance (PPI), driving the bank to a loss in Q1.

The FSA has proposed linking the definition of a Holloway product to four key criterion, to pave the way for certain plans gaining exemption from RDR adviser charging rules.

Paul McMahon has stepped down as director of corporate at Friends Provident to become group marketing director at rival Aegon.

The financial Ombudsman (FOS) is calling for a budget increase of up to £15m in 2011/12 to deal with a shift towards harder-fought cases, but says it will freeze case fees and its general annual levy for the second year running.

Alun Beynon, the head of Aegon's individual protection business, will step down from December.

Royal London group chief executive Mike Yardley is planning to step down to focus on helping the industry tackle future challenges.

Experts are bracing themselves for a "firesale" of protection products next year ahead of a rule change which could see premiums soar by 10%.

Royal Liver and Royal London have successfully completed the first stage of merger talks and have signed an agreement setting out the framework for ongoing discussions.