OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings says in a new report that major UK life insurers are on track for strong capital positions under Solvency II, and significant growth in the income drawdown and bulk annuity markets will offset declining individual annuity sales. The rating Outlook for the sector is Stable, reflecting the diverse businesses and strong capital of the major insurers - important factors underpinning their ratings.

Solvency II calculations are still subject to regulatory conclusions on companies' internal models, and several insurers are still working on restructuring certain asset portfolios, e.g. equity release mortgages, to be eligible for the matching adjustment. However, we expect that negative regulatory surprises will be limited, transitional measures will soften the impact, and some insurers will report particularly strong Solvency II capital, which may lead to pressure from shareholders for M&A or higher dividends.

The dashboard also shows how sales of annuities have fared in 2015 compared with previous years, gives an update on insurers' capital positions and explains why UK life insurers are relatively immune to low interest rates.

The 'UK Life Insurance Dashboard - September 2015' is available at www.fitchratings.com.