Insurance giants Aegon and AIG have both announced that they will be entering the UK's bulk annuity market within a day of each other.

AIG, the largest US-based insurer, will be working with both the Higham Group and Pensions Management to produce its new product. The Higham Group is offering technical support while Pensions Management will be responsible for the long-term administration of AIG Life’s immediate and deferred bulk annuities.

Nigel Burton, director of pensions at AIG Life UK, said: We appointed Higham Group because of their expertise and knowledge of the pensions wind-up market. They are recognized as a leading player in this specialist field and it is clear they have the intellectual and operational capability to handle such a major assignment.

The AIG announcement comes a day after Dutch insurer Aegon’s UK unit revealed that it is moving into the bulk annuities market by the end of the year. The group said that it intends to focus on the lower-end of the spectrum in terms of liabilities and would be looking at deals in the region of tens of millions, not hundreds of millions.