AIG Life, a UK subsidiary of AIG Life & Retirement, has agreed to acquire Ellipse, an insurer that provides group risk insurance, from Munich Re.
Image: AIG Headquarters in New York. Photo: Courtesy of Marc Bryan-Brown/Wikipedia.org
With the acquisition, Ellipse’s group protection capabilities, including life, critical illness and income protection products, along with its technology-enabled business model, will position AIG Life & Retirement’s UK subsidiary AIG Life Ltd (AIGLL) to serve group risk schemes for companies of all sizes.
Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. The companies stated that the transaction will be fully funded in cash. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of next year, subject to the receipt of regulatory approval.
Ellipse was launched in 2009 and since then, it has grown to become one of the largest group life providers in the UK based on last year’s business volumes.
The company is claimed to have reached 8% share of new business premiums and 4% share of in-force premiums last year.
As of this May, the company holds about £64m of in-force premiums and about 4,500 in-force policies covering more than 370,000 lives.
AIG Life & Retirement executive vice president and CEO Kevin Hogan said: “The acquisition of Ellipse reflects our disciplined approach to selectively expanding our existing Life & Retirement businesses while pursuing opportunistic growth.
“Ellipse brings a strong team with a scalable business platform to our well-positioned, technology-driven UK life business. We look forward to welcoming the Ellipse team to AIG.”
Munich Re’s Life and Health Reinsurance in Europe, Latin America and the Middle East CEO Thomas Braune said: “We are glad to have found a trusted partner for this deal in AIG, pairing the right strategic fit on their side with a good opportunity for us to re-focus our UK market approach. This is a great opportunity for both sides and we are looking forward to completing this deal soon.”