London stocks have leapt in early trade on the back of new FSA rules on the financial strength of insurers.
The FTSE 100 was up 3% at 3676 points this morning. Meanwhile the FTSE 250 rose 1.3%.
The FSA's announcement recognised the weakness in its statutory solvency approach, and indicated it will in future base its thinking on a company's "realistic" capital.
The new approach takes a broader definition of liabilities but discounts them at a less punitive rate.
Insurers have fared well so far, with Aviva up 10.8%, Royal & Sun Alliance, 9.9% higher and the Prudential up 8.8%.
