Speculation was the insurer was poised to add Assurant’s employee benefits division to its U.S. platform; this afternoon that speculation was confirmed
Sun Life Financial Inc. announced Wednesday an agreement with Assurant, Inc. to acquire Assurant's Employee Benefits business for a net investment of US$975 million. The transaction will create the sixth largest group benefits business in the U.S., with the combined business having one of the broadest product portfolios in the industry.
"The acquisition of the Assurant Employee Benefits business is directly on strategy, accelerating the growth of our U.S. Group Benefits business and expanding the scope of our benefits business in North America," said Dean Connor, president and CEO of Sun Life Financial. "The transaction is another example of how we are deploying capital effectively across all four pillars of growth to create long-term value for shareholders of Sun Life Financial."
The transaction will add significant new capabilities to the Sun Life U.S. Group Benefits business, including a strong Dental business with the second largest proprietary provider network in the U.S. The transaction also includes a successful Group Life and Disability business, and adds strong voluntary products and capabilities, Vision products and unique client technology. Also included is the Disability RMS business, which is the leader in partnering with other insurers to offer Disability products.
The transaction will significantly increase the size and scale of the Sun Life U.S. Group Benefits business, growing business in-force by more than 50% to approximately US$4 billion3, strengthening the company's partnerships with brokers and private exchanges and supporting investments in technology and distribution.
"This combination will enable us to offer one of the broadest arrays of employee benefits products in the market to our customers. Our portfolio will include leading capabilities in the Group Life and Disability, Dental and Vision, Stop Loss and Voluntary categories. Our increased size will also support future investments as we continue to grow our U.S. business." said Dan Fishbein, MD, President of Sun Life Financial U.S. "We're bringing together some of the top talent and capabilities in the industry."
"The acquisition of the Assurant Employee Benefits business is directly on strategy, accelerating the growth of our U.S. Group Benefits business and expanding the scope of our benefits business in North America," said Dean Connor, president and CEO of Sun Life Financial. "The transaction is another example of how we are deploying capital effectively across all four pillars of growth to create long-term value for shareholders of Sun Life Financial."
The transaction will add significant new capabilities to the Sun Life U.S. Group Benefits business, including a strong Dental business with the second largest proprietary provider network in the U.S. The transaction also includes a successful Group Life and Disability business, and adds strong voluntary products and capabilities, Vision products and unique client technology. Also included is the Disability RMS business, which is the leader in partnering with other insurers to offer Disability products.
The transaction will significantly increase the size and scale of the Sun Life U.S. Group Benefits business, growing business in-force by more than 50% to approximately US$4 billion3, strengthening the company's partnerships with brokers and private exchanges and supporting investments in technology and distribution.
"This combination will enable us to offer one of the broadest arrays of employee benefits products in the market to our customers. Our portfolio will include leading capabilities in the Group Life and Disability, Dental and Vision, Stop Loss and Voluntary categories. Our increased size will also support future investments as we continue to grow our U.S. business." said Dan Fishbein, MD, President of Sun Life Financial U.S. "We're bringing together some of the top talent and capabilities in the industry."
