(Photo: Allison Bell/TA)
Aviva PLC asked a London court to approve the transfer of assets totaling 9 billion euros, or the equivalent of $10.2 billion, saying the uncertainty from Brexit was "intensifying" as it joined other insurers and banks triggering contingency plans.
Aviva asked Judge Richard Snowden for permission to move the life-insurance policies held by non-United Kingdom policyholders to its Irish subsidiary. The insurer wants to make the move to prevent the risk that payments may be held up if the U.K. goes through a hard Brexit.
"The reason for proposing it, your lordship will not be surprised to know, is Brexit," said Martin Moore, a lawyer for Aviva, who has also advised UBS Group AG on its recent transfer of assets. "The current and intensifying uncertainty render the need for certainty all the more pressing." "It obviously will take some time for clarity to emerge," Moore said.
