Continuing to face a highly competitive and regulated environment, many life and pensions companies are adopting new service models to increase their focus, efficiency and flexibility while maintaining service quality. This is stimulating demand for outsourcing, which industry analysts expect to grow by 16% annually across the sector to 2010.* Our deep experience across both open and closed book business gives us a strong proposition in this market. Our specialist skills and software are also proving increasingly attractive to occupational pension providers, as pension scheme structures become ever more complex.

Source: Ovum 2006

Drivers

• Need to reduce operating costs while improving performance and customer retention
• Pressure on administration processes from increasingly complex regulation and initiatives such as Treating Customers Fairly
• Consumer and adviser demand for choice requires ability to bring new vehicles, such as wrap products, to market quickly
• Adviser demand for new models to reduce reliance on upfront commission
• Response to rapidly changing distribution marketplace
• Need by providers to develop closer relationships with advisers through the use of technology and ‘straight through processing’
• Need for specialist skills – and process and systems enhancement – to comply with new pensions legislation and support the shift from final salary pension schemes to money purchase schemes.