Insurers have been hit by reports that the UK financial regulator is to investigate historical product mis-selling allegations.
Some £150 billion of policies may come under review, which could result in savers transferring their pensions and other investments into better deals without paying any exit fees if the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) uncovers evidence that people were exploited by commission-chasing sales people.
Resolution (RSL) falls 10% to 286.9p; Phoenix (PHNX) slips 6.5% to 689p; Legal & General (LGEN) is down 4.4% to 203p; and Aviva (AV.) declines 5.1% to 458.9p.
The review is expected to focus on 30 million pensions, endowments, bonds and life insurance policies sold between the 1970s and 2000 starts in the summer, according to the Daily Telegraph, with confirmation expected on Monday (31 Mar).
Issues include huge exit fees that could see savers lose half their pot if they transferred into another policy, while the investigation may also examine the clarity of charges.
It is believed that workplace pensions will not be part of the review.
