New Ireland, Legal & General enter into partnership

New Ireland Assurance and Legal & General have entered into an exclusive partnership where Legal & General will reinsure €136 million of New Ireland's current annuity business as well as a proportion of its business to be written in the future.

The London-based multinational financial services company will cover annuities purchased by individuals as well as bulk annuities purchased by pension schemes for New Ireland Assurance component of the Bank of Ireland Group that provides life, pensions and investment solutions to individual and corporate clients.

Annuity demand in the Irish market is strong with interest from both individuals and pension schemes and their corporate partners who are looking for insurance based de-risking. Legal & General, coming off a strong 2012 in the annuity market, is looking to continue growing and has chosen five drivers of growth, one of them being retirement solutions, both home and abroad. This deal is very much in line with their initiatives.