Author: Greg Winterton

Life insurance application growth in the US ended the first half of the year essentially flat, registering an uptick of just +0.6% year to date, according to the latest MIB Life Index report. Activity in June specifically fell -6.4% year on year but delivered growth for all face amounts over $500,000. Ages 51-60 saw double-digit growth for amounts over $250,000, ages 61-70 saw growth for all face amounts – in the double digits for amounts over $250,000 up to and including $1m and amounts over $2.5m up to and including $5m. Ages 71+ saw double-digit growth for all face amounts.…

UK regulator the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has published ‘Approach to LIST [life insurance stress test] 2025’, the organisation’s precursor to its planned stress testing of UK life insurers in 2025. The PRA’s 2025 life insurance stress test has three objectives: to assess sector and individual firm resilience to severe but plausible events; to strengthen market understanding and discipline through individual firm publication; and to improve insight into risk management vulnerabilities. It will apply to UK life insurers active in the bulk purchase annuity market with the largest annuity portfolios and will be run under the new…

Life settlement provider Lighthouse Life’s parent company, LHL Strategies, Inc., has completed the acquisition of select assets from Harbor Life Settlements, an SEO lead generation business in the life settlement market. The assets that LHL is taking on include Harbor Life’s websites, data and technology. “Acquiring Harbor Life’s assets, including their go-to-market consumer brand and all underlying intellectual property, enhances Lighthouse Life’s lead generation capabilities,” said Michael Freedman, CEO of Lighthouse Life. “Our continued growth and strategic plans place the company as a true and trusted market-maker for longevity-risk asset funds and managers, employing multiple brands for lead generation and…

The trustee of the TotalEnergies UK Pension Plan has concluded a second buy-in with PIC, a specialist insurer of defined benefit pension schemes, for £1.2bn.  The transaction is the largest completed buy-in announced to date this year. It follows the plan’s first buy-in with PIC for £1.6bn in 2014; PIC has now insured all £2.8bn of the plan’s defined benefit liabilities. The latest buy-in secures the pensions of over 2,000 pensioners and dependants and 3,500 deferred policyholders.  “Securing the benefits for our members has been the aim of the trustee for many years. We are pleased to have reached this…

NSK, a global manufacturer of bearings, automotive and precision machinery products, has completed a £309m bulk purchase annuity transaction for around 3,700 pensioner and deferred members of the NSK Pension Scheme with M&G. The insuring entity is The Prudential Assurance Company Limited, M&G’s wholly-owned subsidiary offering life and pensions solutions.  The deal is the third buy-in transaction completed by M&G since re-entering the bulk annuity market in September 2023, with total new business written by the firm now at approximately £930m.  “This transaction sees us take on the future pension obligations of the 3,700 pensioner and deferred members of NSK’s…

Just Group has completed a £260m buy-in for the Menzies Pension Fund, which is sponsored by John Menzies Limited. The scheme completed a previous, pensioner-only buy-in in 2018.  The transaction was completed in March this year and secures the benefits of more than 3,000 members, including almost 1,400 pensioners and more than 1,650 deferred members.  The transaction included dovetailing the process with a secondary market sale of an illiquid asset and deferral of premium to enable the buy-in shortfall to be met by a continuation of the existing schedule of contributions.  “This was a collaborative process to achieve a positive…

HomeEquity Bank, a provider of reverse mortgages in Canada, has hired Katherine Dudtschak as its new CEO. Dudtschak joined the Bank as President on 1st May following the announcement that former President and CEO Steven Ranson planned to retire at the end of June.  “With Katherine’s extensive experience across the financial services industry and with developing high-performing teams, we believe she is well positioned to build for the future and make a positive impact for the Bank’s customers,” said Daniel Jauernig, Chair of the Board of HomeEquity Bank.   “As the Canadian population ages, it has become increasingly important to look…

The HMBS new issue market fell slightly in June, according to New View Advisor’s latest blog post analysing the data. HECM Mortgage-Backed Securities issuance totalled $497m, $29m lower than May’s $526m.   This year (2024), total issuance through June totals $2.8bn; $328m lower than at this time last year and $5.6bn lower than at this time in 2022.  The 86 pools issued in June consisted of 24 first-participation or original pools and 62 tail pools. HMBS issuance remains near historical lows, comparing monthly issuance dating back to 2010. 

Ginnie Mae has announced a term sheet for its proposed Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Mortgage-Backed Securities (HMBS) 2.0 program, initiating a comment period ending July 31st. The proposed program aims to enhance liquidity access for HMBS Issuers by allowing the re-pooling of active and non-active buyouts into new custom, single-Issuer pools.  “The team at Ginnie Mae works hard to promote st​ability and growth for our markets, communities, and families alike.” said HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman.   “It is critical that we enhance our existing tools so we can better support seniors and the reverse mortgage industry. We look forward…

The Rolls-Royce & Bentley Pension Fund, which is sponsored by Bentley Motors Limited, as concluded an £880m Bulk Purchase Annuity transaction with Standard Life. This is a full scheme buy-in transaction covering c. 6,000 members of the scheme. The buy-in included novation of the scheme’s existing longevity swap with Standard Life, originally executed in 2013 with Abbey Life (now part of Standard Life). The deal completed in June 2024. “We are delighted to have collaborated with the Trustees, Bentley Motors Limited and their respective advisers to develop and deliver a solution that meets the specific needs and objectives of the…