Pension Annuity Friendly Society (PAFS) has just been given authorisation by the Jersey Financial Services Commission.
The firm has been operating in Guernsey for around 12 months and will provide an alternative to the two existing providers, Norwich Union and Zurich, through existing independent financial advisers.
Business development manager Eyeedul Hague said the firm had decided to offer services to the Channel Islands following a request from Guernsey firm BWCI.
‘They wrote to 100 life offices in the UK, of whom only ten responded.
‘Because we are a small niche provider we felt that we could provide annuities in Guernsey, as well as life insurance and other products.
Nigel Woodroffe, insurance director at the Jersey Financial Services Commission, said PAFS would be regulated from the UK by the Financial Services Authority.
He said the previous reluctance of most annuity providers to come to the islands was related to UK tax structures, requiring separate offshore arrangements which were costly to put in place.
