Zurich

Economic uncertainty has sparked an increase in people setting up small businesses, advisers have said.

The government was in listening mode at the launch of a report to tackle state dependency and potential National Insurance rebates for income protection policyholders in Westminster today.

PPI controversy, opaque financial services and lack of trust in the industry are key barriers to widespread apathy about insurance protection, pensions and savings, Zurich has warned.

Stress had a noticeable impact on businesses in 2012, according to nearly half (42%) of senior managers of SMEs, Zurich has found.

Zurich is set to offer its protection proposition on its retail platform later in the year, to offer IFAs a complete holistic view of financial plans.

More than three in four (76%) organisations say they have become more concerned about information security and privacy over the past three years - but only 19% have purchased insurance designed to cover these exposures, according to new research commissioned...

Zurich's 2012 critical illness claim statistics for its life policy customers in the UK show 90% of claims as successful with payments amounting to over £59.9million.

The majority of UK adults have no awareness of limited state support should they be unable to work through illness or disability, according to Zurich research.

The current picture for protection sales is mixed as the industry treads the last month to gender neutralisation.

Zurich will be investing significantly in technology next year as part of a strategy to serve the mass market more.