Unity Life is to acquire US insurer Washington National Insurance
Company’s (WNIC) Canadian block of occupational disability
insurance. The sale, for which no financial details were provided,
marks WNIC’s parent company Conseco’s exit from the Canadian
market.
Commenting, Unity Life’s president and CEO Tony Poole said the
acquisition formed part of a strategy of targeting blocks of
business that complement Unity Life’s “market niche and area of
expertise.”
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In October 2008 Unity Life announced the acquisition of US
insurer Forethought Financial Group’s Canadian block of 20,000
funeral funding insurance policies including policy liabilities of
C$90.6 million ($74 million).
Unity Life, which traces its origins back to 1898, was until
April 2008 a mutual insurer. Its conversion into a stock insurer
came by way of Canada’s first sponsored demutualisation – which saw
Canadian life insurer Foresters buy out Unity Life’s members for an
undisclosed cash amount.
According to Unity Life it currently has 192,000 active
policies, C$13.8 billion ($11.3 billion) of in-force insurance
business and total assets of C$562 million.
Foresters is the trademark of The Independent Order of
Foresters, a not-for-profit fraternal benefit society which
provides its 735,000 members in Canada, the US and UK with life and
health insurance, annuities and educational savings products via
325 branches.
In the year to 31 December 2007 Foresters reported total premium
income of C$383 million, investment and other income of C$395
million and net income of C$139 million. Total assets of C$5.4
billion exceeded liabilities by C$1.4 billion.
Rating agency AM Best has assigned Foresters an “A” (excellent)
rating and Unity Life an “A-“ (excellent) rating.
