Legal and General's gross protection premiums have risen by 5%, according to the insurer's preliminary results for 2013.
In 2013 protection premiums in total rose to £1.3bn a 5% increase on the previous year when premiums reached just over £1.2bn.
Retail Protection continued "strong growth" with gross premiums up 5% to £990m (2012: £947m). Around half of retail protection sales were typically sold alongside a mortgage.
Sales in the second half of 2013 were up 5% on the same period in 2012. L&G said this was "an excellent result" as the introduction of gender neutral pricing in December 2012 meant some customers brought forward purchases into Q4 2012.
However, over the full year, sales decreased to £148m (2012: £151m), reflecting the impact of the gender neutral legislation.
Additionally, group protection delivered a 5% increase in gross premiums to £336m (2012: £321m) with new business sales in line with last year's sharply higher volumes of £70m (2012: £70m).
The insurer attributed this growth due to its employee rehabilitation program and auto-enrolment.
L&G said: "The strong momentum with which Retail Protection finished the year has continued into 2014. Our mortgage network and market leading presence with banks and building societies positions us well to benefit from the projected growth in the housing market."
In its statement, the group said it is expecting to see a continued strong pipeline for Group Protection products into 2014 as a result of auto-enrolment.
