Wilton Re Completes Acquisition of Conseco Life Insurance Company from CNO Financial
Wilton Re Completes Acquisition of Conseco Life Insurance Company from CNO Financial
July 1, 2014
(Wilton, Connecticut) – Today, Wilton Re completed the acquisition of Conseco Life Insurance Company (“CLIC”) from CNO Financial Group (“CNO”). Wilton Re’s U.S. operating company, Wilton Reassurance Company, has acquired 100% of the common stock of CLIC, a wholly owned subsidiary of CNO consisting of traditional and interest sensitive life insurance policies and deferred annuities in runoff. The business has over $3.4 billion of statutory reserves. Wilton Re will transfer all operations for the business to its administrative services platform after a transition period. As part of the agreement, Bankers Life and Casualty Company (“Bankers Life”), one of CNO’s wholly owned life insurance subsidiaries, has recaptured $160 million of traditional life reserves previously reinsured to Wilton Re.
Chris Stroup, Chairman and CEO of Wilton Re said, “We are pleased to serve CNO and the policyholders of CLIC with this important transaction. Wilton Re’s In Force Solutions are designed to provide companies with complete and safe exits of underperforming and non-core business, and our administration platform provides a high standard for continuing service to affected policyholders.”
Following the announcement, Fitch Ratings upgraded the Insurer Financial Strength Rating (IFS) of Conseco Life Insurance Company to ‘A+’ from ‘BB+’. Fitch stated that it views CLIC as being ‘core’ to its new owner based on the application of Fitch’s group rating methodology and as such, has equalized the ratings. Fitch rates Wilton Re’s IFS at ‘A+’.
The full press release from Fitch can be accessed here.
On July 8, A.M. Best also upgraded the financial strength rating to “A” (Excellent) from “B-” (Fair) and the issuer credit rating to “a” from “bb-”of Conseco Life Insurance Company. The ratings have been removed from under review with positive implications and assigned a stable outlook. A.M. Best notes that the rating upgrade reflects the financial strength and ability of Wilton Re to support CLIC, if necessary. The transaction adds further scale to Wilton Re’s liability profile while maintaining its focus on mortality risk and is in line with Wilton Re’s core administrative reinsurance capabilities.
The full press release from A.M. Best can be accessed here.