It's a new dawn and it's a new day for Singapore Life, the newest insurance company in Singapore after it announced its acquisition of Zurich Life's business portfolio business portfolio in the city-state. Under this agreement, Singapore Life will become responsible for all Zurich Life Singapore's customers' policies, totaling approximately S$6 billion of coverage.
Once the acquisition finalises, Singapore Life will now get the responsibility of overseeing Zurich Life's 5,000 policies covering life, critical illness, and disability benefits.
This agreement follows Zurich Life Singapore's closure to new business in December 2015. The transfer of all policies from Zurich to Singapore Life is expected to be completed in the first half of the year, subject to approval by the High Court.
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In a statement released to the media, Singapore Life CEO Walter de Oude noted that this move is in line with their strategy to accelerate growth and gain traction amongst Singaporeans looking for insurance.
"With the strong support from our shareholders, we are confident that this agreement will demonstrate Singapore Life's aspirations for significant growth and positively contribute to Singapore's insurance industry and beyond," he said.
Zurich policyholders who will be transferred to Singapore Life will be able to enjoy a slew of features such as the 24/7 online policy access.
To recall, Singapore Life achieved full license as a direct insurance company in 2017. Supported by Chong Sing Holdings FinTech Group and IPGL Holdings, it brags itself to be a fully-digital life insurance provider.
Meanwhile, Zurich noted that this deal would not affect the branch operations or businesses of Zurich International Life Limited or Zurich Insurance Company Ltd in any way.
More so, Zurich assured the company's customers who would be impacted by the acquisition will be informed about the transfer of their personal details.
"This decision is in line with Zurich's strategy to optimize its portfolio and geographical footprint and follows an extensive process to ensure that existing policyholder terms and conditions are safeguarded. Our international life customers are unaffected by this announcement," Zurich Life Singapore CEO David Kneale said.
