Tower exits life in NZ
New Zealand insurer Tower Limited has sold most of its life business to another New Zealand-owned company, Fidelity Life Assurance Company.
The move makes Tower Limited an almost total general insurer.
The company announced the transaction to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) today, saying the aggregate value for Tower including cash and release of capital is $189 million.
It said that under the agreement, Tower will sell most of its non-participating life insurance policies and retain the capital currently held against those policies, releasing an aggregate amount of capital of $189 million.
The announcement said that, in addition, Tower would retain its participating book and other run-off life insurance assets which have an embedded value of $23 million.
Commenting on the transaction, Tower Group managing director Rob Flannagan said Tower would now focus on delivering high-quality general insurance products and services.
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