A fall in Standard Life's domestic market sales has shifted concern from the impact of the financial crisis on insurers' balance sheets, to its effect on savers' appetites for their productsStandard Life.

The former mutual said sales of UK life and pensions fell 5 per cent from £10.26bn to £9.79bn in the nine months to September 30. In the third quarter, UK life sales fell 14 per cent to £2.63bn.