Life assurance companies were subjected to stress tests earlier this year, the City watchdog confirmed for the first time on Tuesday, although analysts were underwhelmed by the amount of stress involved.

The Financial Services Authority asked insurers to test the resilience of their capital bases against a drop in equity values of 20 per cent over the course of 2009; a fall in property values of 15 per cent; a rise in yields on corporate bonds of 0.5 per cent and a move in interest rates of 0.5 per cent in either direction.