Asteron Life not sold with Australian business

Asteron Life and AA Life have delivered a profit of $39 million to its parent company, Suncorp, in the past year.

Friday, August 10th 2018, 6:00AM

Suncorp has sold its Asteron Life subsidiary business in Australia to TAL Dai-Ichi Life, for about A$725 million ($809 mill), but the New Zealand business wasn't included in the sale.

Asteron Life, and AA Life, in New Zealand reported a profit of $148 million for the 12 months to 30 June 2018.

It said its life insurance business, which included Asteron Life and AA Life, delivered net profit that was down $1 million on the year before due to lapse and claim volatility.

In-force premium grew by 4.9%.

Suncorp's chief executive in New Zealand, Paul Smeaton, said the business expected in-force premium and underlying profit to continue to grow.

“In 2017 we introduced AsteronConnect to provide our life insurance advisers with a digital platform to make it easier for them to on-board new business,” he said. “We also continue to lead the market on retention rates and sustainable business practices that deliver better outcomes for our customers.”

He said Asteron was core to the business.

But that's not the case in Australia - there, Asteron has been sold to TAL Dai-Ichi Life, for about A$725m ($809m).

The deal is expected to be complete by the end of December, subject to the satisfaction of conditions and Australian and Japanese regulatory approvals.

Suncorp's chief executive and managing director Michael Cameron said the sale was the superior option, decided on after a strategic review of the life insurance business. Other options considered including more reinsurance or partnership arrangements.

"The long-term strategic alliance between TAL and Suncorp will allow us to offer excellent value to Suncorp's Australian customers. The strategic alliance will leverage the strengths of our respective organisations to deliver a superior customer experience."

TAL group chief executive Brett Clark said his firm was looking forward to extending its life insurance expertise to provide solutions to Suncorp customers and distribution partners.

Tags: Asteron Life insurance