CUNA Mutual Group has agreed to acquire a preneed insurance business from Assurant Inc. for $1.3 billion.
Preneed insurance is a form of permanent life insurance. Funeral homes sell permanent life insurance to give customers a way to finance funeral and burial arrangements in advance.
CUNA Mutual and Assurant hope to get the regulatory approvals they need to complete the deal by Sept. 30.
After the deal is completed, the preneed business would keep its current operations intact, and it would continue to sell its products through funeral homes, rather than through CUNA Mutual's existing distribution channels, CUNA Mutual said.
The Companies
CUNA Mutual is a Madison, Wisconsin-based, policyholder-owned insurer that traditionally has focused on selling insurance products through credit unions and banks.
CUNA Mutual has 30 million customer relationships, $4 billion in annual revenue and $28 billion in assets.
Robert Trunzo, CUNA Mutual's CEO, said his company sees the deal as a way to help middle-market consumers build financial stability.
Assurant is a New York-based company that once had large health insurance and employee benefits operations along with the preneed business.
