Royal London said protection new business increased by 6% year-on-year, rising to £483m in the first half of 2026 from £455m in the same period last year, as enhancements to product offerings and demand for estate-planning solutions improved sales and profitability.
Product mix and proposition changes lift sales and margin
The mutual insurer attributed the growth to a combination of product improvements and customer demand shifts. It highlighted changes to its income protection offer and enhancements to its Personal Menu Plan — a proposition that lets customers combine multiple protection benefits under a single policy — as important contributors to new business momentum.
“Enhancements to our income protection offering and continued momentum in high-net-worth business.”
Royal London also said there was continued strong demand for ‘whole-of-life’ term products, which it linked to a heightened focus among customers on estate planning and wealth transfer. Management said this produced a more favourable product mix, which in turn supported a material improvement in new business profitability.
Margins, contribution and profitability
The insurer reported a rise in new business margin to 10.3%, up from 6.7% in the first half of 2025 and higher than the 8.7% margin recorded in the second half of that year. That improvement helped new business contribution increase to £50m, compared with £30m in the prior-year period.
Protection operating profit rose by 6% year-on-year to £145m, from £137m in H1 2025. These figures point to not only stronger top-line flows into protection but also better conversion of those sales into profitable business for the division.
| Metric | H1 2026 | H1 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Protection new business sales | £483m | £455m |
| New business margin | 10.3% | 6.7% |
| New business contribution | £50m | £30m |
| Protection operating profit | £145m | £137m |
| Claims paid | £392m | — |
Customer outcomes and claims
The business stressed robust customer outcomes, reporting that it paid 98% of protection claims in the first half of 2026. In total, the insurer paid out £392m to more than 29,000 UK customers and their families during the period — a detail that underlines the operational delivery behind the sales numbers.
- Product enhancements, notably to the Personal Menu Plan and income protection, drove higher sales.
- Demand for whole-of-life term products improved the product mix and aided margin expansion.
- Claims payment performance remained high, with 98% of protection claims settled in H1 2026.
For the wider UK insurance market, Royal London’s results are notable on two fronts. First, the combination of product innovation and targeted propositions appears to be a reliable route to boosting both volumes and profitability in protection lines, a sector that has been under pressure from low interest rates and rising claims costs in past years. Second, the large claims outflow — nearly £400m in six months — demonstrates the capital and liquidity demands on protection businesses even while they scale up sales.
Investors and industry watchers will be watching whether Royal London can sustain margin levels above 10% as the company rolls out product changes more widely and whether competing insurers respond with similar propositions aimed at high-net-worth and estate-planning customers. For policyholders, the combination of improved proposition breadth and high claims payment rates strengthens the case for protection products as part of household financial planning.
Overall, Royal London’s H1 2026 protection performance shows that tactical product upgrades and an emphasis on higher-margin lines can translate into measurable improvements in both new business economics and customer delivery.
