The Gender Directive has shown "clear lessons" for the industry to learn, to make a real impact on consumer behaviour, Bright Grey and Scottish Provident have said.
Roger Edwards, managing director of Bright Grey and Scottish Provident, said 2012 had been an "excellent" year and the providers were aiming to take the G-Day boost momentum into this year.
He said: "While December saw a flurry of business because of the Gender Directive, we got out of the blocks quickly with a very positive first half of the year.
"As a result of our Gender Directive push we received a huge boost in business and we're determined to use this as a springboard to make this year even more successful."
Edwards added the significant pick-up in sales showed "clear lessons" that were helped by a hard deadline pre-price increase.
The protection businesses of the Royal London Group reported a 23% increase in new business for the 12 months to 31 December 2012 on a present value for new business premiums basis.
A breakdown of the sales figures in December also highlighted considerable increase in the number of women buying life policies, with 95% and 52% increases year-on-year for Scottish Provident and Bright Grey respectively.
Edwards said: "This year, we expect to see a lot of pricing activity in the market before things settle down and there will also be a certain degree of upheaval as a result of RDR. However there are plenty of reasons for optimism."
Royal London Group will announce its 2012 Financial Results, including full new business results for the Group, on Thursday 28 March 2013.
