General insurance provider Berkeley Alexander says sales via its distribution partners are up by 100% on January 2013.

Alan Collinson, business development director at Berkeley Alexander, said: “2014 is off to a great start for the industry as a whole, the housing market is recovering, mortgage application numbers are up by 20% according to the Bank of England, and more and more homeowners need protection for their most valuable asset in a time when growth of the economy is still uncertain.

“We held some concerns that the additional workload caused by a rising mortgage market might adversely impact on GI sales, but our results suggest that this is not going to be the case after all.”

He added: “We invested significantly in our Home, Landlords and ASU/MMPI propositions in 2013, and have built one of the largest home insurance product panels available to advisors. This has resulted in ongoing support from our distribution partners, who recognise that we are truly delivering something unique.”

However, Collinson argues there is still much work to be done in 2014, especially in light of the figures released by Paymentshield last week. According to the survey, almost one third of homeowners are without vital protection. 34% have no contents insurance, 81% are without mortgage protection and 96% have no income protection.

He said: “We will work hard to address this gap in the market. We will continue to improve and expand the services we provide and deliver advisors with the tools they need to ensure their clients have access to the right level of protection at the right price. This is especially important for the first time buyer market where cash strapped homeowners may turn to aggregators and purchase cover solely on the basis of price.

“I urge advisors to grasp the opportunity to demonstrate the value of comprehensive protection and how they can deliver first class cover that matches the individual needs and circumstances of the clients.”