LifeQuote has reported that sales of protection insurance have reached a nine-month high.

The outsourcer of protection services to intermediaries attributes recent growth in sales in part to the gradual recovery of the mortgage market, with lending hitting a five-year high in May, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

The growth in its sales has also been a result of more intermediaries generating more sales per adviser with LifeQuote. It enables advisers to generate a wide range of illustration including multi-benefit plans, comparing all providers before handing off the application and administration to LifeQuote’s dedicated teams.

Rob Quayle, managing director, Directlife, said: “The protection market is closely tied to the mortgage market and the life events that it parallels, such as new employment market, marriage and children.

“The recent upturn in mortgage lending and its underlying cause is therefore being mirrored in the protection market.

“However, critically, the five years of subdued lending mean that many people have had protection needs that have not been insured as they have not consulted an adviser, and this is plainly an issue that needs addressing.”