Prudential, the UK insurer, is on the hunt for bolt-on acquisitions in the US as the American market begins a cut-throat price war.

Delivering a 13 per cent rise in first quarter worldwide new business sales, Mark Tucker, the chief executive of Prudential, said that much of the current pricing of American insurance products by rivals was "unsustainable".

First quarter new business sales at Jackson, Prudential's US arm, fell 7 per cent to £165 million in large part because of general fears felt by American consumers about taking out the sort of equity-backed products the insurer sells.

The sales decline was also the result of what Mr Tucker said was "price competition which is unsustainable".

He added: "Jackson is a core part of our portfolio. We are looking to build. We will look to make bolt-ons over the next 6 to 12 months, especially on the life side. There are opportunities, with a lot of different factors and with pricing in the market place in the United States, I feel it is more likely we will do a deal in the next 6 to 12 months than over the last 6 to 12 months."

Prudential's last big expansion drive in the US was exactly seven years ago when, under the leadership of then chief executive Jonathan Bloomer, its $20 billion bid for American General was trumped by American Insurance Group.

A better-than-expected 30 per cent rise in Prudential's first quarter Asian new business sales more than made-up for declines in the US resulting in new insurance sales of the group rising from £648 million to £729 million against analysts expectations of £703 million.

Mr Tucker said: "Our prospects for 2008 remain positive."

First quarter Asia sales rose 30 per cent to £375 million meaning the Asian business has now produced compound annual growth of 25 per cent for the past 14 years, Mr Tucker said.

Much of the recent growth in Asia has come from sales of new Shariah compliant savings products across Indonesia and Malaysia. Half of the sales of those products are bought in the regions by non-Muslims who want equity-backed products that avoid the arms, tobacco and alchohol industries, Mr Tucker said.

The company's UK operations managed a 4 per cent rise in sales to £189 million — a better performance than its rival Legal & General which posted its first quarter numbers yesterday.

Net inflows into Prudential's asset management business in the UK, trading as M&G, and its Asian asset management businesses totalled £1.1 billion but this was a sharp decline on a year ago when global equity markets was soaring.

M&G pulled in £600 million of net new money, down 59 per cent on the first quarter of 2007. In Asia the £500 million of net inflows represented a 17 per cent year-on-year decline.