Author: LMI Newsdesk

Industry group the Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA) has published the 2023 edition of its Market Data Collection survey. The headline is that life settlement received over $842m from licensed LISA member providers for the sale of their unwanted life insurance policies, up from $790m in 2022. Additionally, consumers received $707m more from the life settlement option vs. lapsing or surrendering their life insurance coverage, the largest sum recorded since LISA began collecting market data. LISA provider members concluded 3,218 life settlement transactions in 2023, purchasing a total face value of $4.67bn. “The data that we collected in our Market…

AXA and Athora have mutually agreed to terminate a sale agreement related to the purchase of a closed life and pensions portfolio from AXA Germany. AXA will instead retain this portfolio, the sale of which was announced in July 2022. Separately, AXA subsidiary AXA Life Europe has entered into a reinsurance agreement with New Reinsurance Company, a subsidiary of Munich Re, that covers approximately EUR 3bn of Variable Annuity reserves. This transaction will result in a reduction in underlying earnings of ca. EUR 20m per annum from 2024 onwards which AXA intends to offset with a EUR 0.2bn share buyback…

The trustees of RiverStone Management Pension and Life Assurance Plan, which is sponsored by Brit Insurance, have completed a £95m (S117M) full buy-in with Standard Life. According to the press release announcing the deal, this is the second buy-in conducted by a pension scheme backed by Brit Insurance following a similar size deal with the Brit Group Services Limited Defined Benefits Pension Scheme in 2022. The latest deal covers all benefits of the scheme’s 388 members. According to the release, the trustees were able to negotiate an enhanced level of inflation protection for members as a result of the competitive nature…

Life settlement trade group the Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA) proposed amendments to the National Council of Insurance Legislators’ (NCOIL) life settlement model act at NCOIL’s Spring National Meeting on 12 April. Coventry First co-founder and Executive Chairman Alan Buerger, a former LISA Chair, was LISA’s witness before Chair, Rep. Carl Anderson (S.C.), Vice Chair, Sen. Vickie Sawyer (N.C.), and the members of NCOIL’s Life Insurance & Planning Committee. Buerger presented LISA’s proposed amendments, which focused on two areas identified by LISA members as essential to serving consumers: electronic commerce and consumers’ access to their licensed producers’ expertise. “Because of…

Investment manager Hudson Structured Capital Management has closed HS Mohawk Fund I LP,  a life-insurance focused continuation fund. The fund closed with $175mn of commitments, led by StepStone Group. In connection with the closing, HSCM has also named Gokul Sudarsana its Chief Investment Officer for Life Insurance, in addition to his role as Chief Actuary. “We are delighted to announce the successful closing of the fund and continue to be a trusted capital partner to our portfolio companies and drive value creation for our investors,” said Sudarsana. “This transaction marks an exciting milestone in our growing life insurance franchise, and…

Last orders have been called for the UK pension fund of diamond specialist De Beers with a £870m ($1.1bn) full buy-in deal that will see all current pensioners and deferred members transferred to Pensions Insurance Corporation (PIC). In a 2 April news release, PIC said that 1464 current pensioners and 473 deferred members of the scheme, which is sponsored by De Beers UK, would transfer across from the pension fund. Hymans Robertson and Barnett Waddingham provided the De Beers trustees with actuarial advice on the transaction. PIC was given legal advice by CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang (CCMNO) and the De…

Last orders have been called for the UK pension fund of diamond specialist De Beers with a £870m ($1.1bn) full buy-in deal that will see all current pensioners and deferred members transferred to Pensions Insurance Corporation (PIC). In a 2 April news release, PIC said that 1464 current pensioners and 473 deferred members of the scheme, which is sponsored by De Beers UK, would transfer across from the pension fund. Hymans Robertson and Barnett Waddingham provided the De Beers trustees with actuarial advice on the transaction. PIC was given legal advice by CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang (CCMNO) and the De…

US tech firm Unisys has signed a $200m bulk purchase annuity (BPA) deal with F&G Annuities & Life, the second transaction between the two parties in the last 12 months, following on from the $250m BPA deal with F&G announced last November The deal was signed on 28th March, transferring 3,800 retirees and beneficiaries across to F&G. Unisys said the deal will result in a first quarter one-time, non-cash, pre-tax settlement charge of approximately $129m. This new deal is the latest in a series of pension de-risking moves by the Pennsylvania-headquartered firm. In 2021, Unisys agreed a $280m BPA deal…

The Ockham Pension Scheme has completed a £110m ($138m) buy-in with retirement specialists Just Group. The Ockham Pension Scheme is sponsored by insurer LV=, and the deal secures benefits for about 700 members. This is the third buy-in deal which has been sponsored by LV=, following the £40m full buy-in with Rothesay of the Teachers Assurance Group Pension Scheme in 2019, and the conversion of the LV= Employee Pension Scheme’s longevity swap into a £800m buy-in with Standard Life in 2020. LCP was appointed as de-risking adviser to the trustee, with Redington providing investment advice on the asset transfer. A&O…

The pension fund of UK retailer Next has agreed a £510m ($643m) full scheme buy-in with bulk purchase annuity (BPA) specialist Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC). This is the second deal between the two parties and follows a £100m buy-in in 2018. The completion of this new transaction means that a total of 3,600 pensioners and deferred members have now been transferred to PIC. The Next scheme trustee was advised on all aspects of the buy-in by LCP. Legal advice was provided to the trustee by Herbert Smith Freehills. Hymans Robertson and Shoosmiths advised the scheme sponsor Next plc and CMS…