Marking its exit from the US
fixed annuity market, reinsurer SCOR has sold Investors Insurance
Corporation (IIC) to Athene Holdings for $55m.
IIC is a life insurance
company specialising in the sale of fixed annuities, principally
equity-indexed annuities, and is wholly-owned by the French
reinsurer’s SCOR Global Life US Re unit.
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SCOR chairman and CEO Denis
Kessler said: “The sale of IIC confirms SCOR’s constant focus on
the optimisation of its portfolio mix. As expressed in our ‘Strong
Momentum’ plan, SCOR is focused on expanding its core life
reinsurance book, which is centred on biometric risk.
“The resources freed up by
the sale of the annuity business will allow us to further pursue
this goal.”
Athene’s acquisition of IIC
follows its purchase in October 2010 of Liberty Life Insurance
Company (LLIC), a US-based subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada, for
$628m.
At the time of the
acquisition, Athene chairman and CEO Jim Belardi noted it was “a
major step” in growing Athene’s fixed annuity business.
At the time of the deal, LLIC
had a $2.8bn block of fixed annuities and insurance licences in 49
US states.
Athene Holdings other units are Athene Life Re Ltd, a
Bermuda-based reinsurer focused on the retirement services market,
and US life insurer Athene Life Insurance, domiciled in the state
of Indiana.
