Life insurance sales are definitely on the increase, but it is the top 250 advisers that are controlling the boost, according to Axa GM Financial Protection Michael Rogers.

He says despite market speculation that more planners are selling life insurance, the growth has mainly been coming from the large writers.

"Everyone is writing more," he told insuranceNEWS.com.au. "But it's the top 250 where we're seeing the greatest rise. In saying that they are generally only risk writers - they don't sell investment products."

Mr Rogers says Axa is very pleased with the recent surge in life insurance, saying it is the "backbone of any good financial planning". He hopes it will continue to grow as markets recover.

"We went for 12 or 13 years without a downturn," he said. "We can only hope that when markets return people will not return to complacency, that ‘she'll be right' attitude. Maybe this will have been a bit of a wake up call."