British general insurers are less optimistic about their prospects than they were a few months ago, according to a Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers survey.

It says insurer business volumes in the UK fell slightly for the second consecutive quarter, in contrast with the wider financial services sector, which grew business volumes at their fastest rate since 2007 in the three months to September 30.

The gains pushed up overall profitability and the momentum is expected to continue into the next quarter.

For general insurers, profitability was broadly stable following large falls the preceding two quarters, but a sharp fall in profits is expected next quarter. Numbers employed by general insurers also declined slightly for the first time since December 2011.

For UK insurance brokers, optimism was broadly unchanged.

Broker business volumes continued to pick up in the quarter, but at the slowest pace in more than a year. Growth is expected to accelerate next quarter.

Companies say regulation and competition are likely to be the biggest constraints on business in the coming year.

CBI Director for Economics Rain Newton-Smith says the fallout from the global financial crisis is working its way out of the system.

“The UK’s financial services sector is enjoying its strongest run of growth since 2007, with activity rising across all categories of customer and profitability bouncing back.”