The Financial Services Authority (FSA), the UK's financial markets regulator, has changed its rules to prevent the panic selling of shares by life insurance companies, according to a report from the BBC.
Part of last week's heavy loss on the FTSE 100 has been attributed to the selling of shares by life insurers.
Under FSA rules, life insurers are forced to sell their riskiest assets, in this case their massive share holdings in blue chip companies, to ensure they can cover all their liabilities.
The new rules will allow the companies to make "their own judgement as to the most appropriate investment strategy... for their own particular circumstances," said the FSA.
