Standard Life to offer life bancassurance under Barclays brand

Through the 'B-Assured' brand, Barclays will offer highly competitive and simple life insurance, together with the tax relief available on payments. This agreement sees Standard Life taking its first step into the retail life assurance market within a joint initiative, and the deal will be in place for a minimum of three years.

"This is an exciting further step in diversifying our distribution strategy to secure alliances in profitable and potential growth areas with a very significant partner," says Trevor Matthews, chief executive of life & pensions in the UK and Europe. "The venture with Barclays represents a significant new direction for the business and illustrates our ability to work with another major financial services provider in launching a product direct into the retail market," he added.