STANDARD Life has announced strong growth in its Irish operations, with new premiums increased by 65 per cent to £41.5 million in the year ended November 15th, 1996.

By far the largest growth came from single premium income which jumped by 88 per cent to £31.6 million. The remainder of the business came from regular premium income which rose by 18 per cent to £9.9 million.

The single premium market benefited from the strong underlying economy with low inflation and the perception that single premium is better value, said Mr Alan Ashe, general manager, Standard Life. It increased its market share and reckons that it will increase this further this year.

Mr Ashe said the company is beginning to show benefits from a repositioning in the market. Standard Life's products are now "more competitive". It has invested significant sums on recruitment, training and technology over the past two years and this investment "is beginning to pay off". And it has evolved from a branch operation to a more autonomous Irish operation with its own local management team.

Annual premium income in personal pensions rose from £2.0 million to £2.2 million while single premium income in personal pensions grew from £3.6 million to £4.8 million. The growth was greater in the company pensions side, where annual premium income rose by 22 per cent to £5.4 million while single premiums increased by 36 per cent to £5.4 million.

Regular premium income in savings and life rose from £1.5 million to £1.6 million. Single premium income in bonds almost doubled from £6.6 million to £13 million.

Standard Life, founded in 1825, employs 8,100 people world wide and 227 are in Ireland. It has been in Ireland since 1834 where it has six offices.