One of Canada’s leading carriers is adding to its annuity business.
Great West Life grew its annuity book in a big way, as its European subsidiary, Canada Life, added The Equitable Life Assurance Society with $1.69 billion in assets.
The deal sees Canada Life acquire the assets and liabilities associated with Equitable Life's annuity business.
"Great-West Lifeco continues to grow organically and through acquisitions in its target segments," said Paul Mahon, Great-West Lifeco President and CEO. "This announcement regarding a transfer of payout annuity assets and liabilities from Equitable Life to Canada Life during 2015 complements our ongoing U.K. strategy. We continue to look for opportunities to grow our overall U.K. business, and in particular, to respond to the changes in pension legislation last April."
The assets and liabilities are being initially transferred via indemnity reinsurance effective January 1, 2015. This will be followed by a formal transfer of assets and liabilities via a court sanctioned process that is expected to occur by the end of 2015.
