MetLife and Prudential Financial have announced reinsurance deals involving a total of $29.2 billion in life insurance and annuity account value.
MetLife picked Global Atlantic, an affiliate of KKR, to reinsurance a block of $14 billion in life insurance policies and a block of $5.2 billion in fixed annuities.
Prudential Financial has arranged for Constellation Insurance Holdings to reinsure a block of older variable annuities with $10 billion in account value.
Constellation is a Cincinnati-based company controlled by two Canadian pension plan investment managers, Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board.
What It Means
MetLife and Prudential said their reinsurance deals won´t have any noticeable effect on customers because they'll continue to service the policies and annuity contracts.
But the deals should be good for the insurers and their shareholders.
MetLife expects its deal with KKR to provide more than $3.2 billion in cash, through ceding commissions and release of excess capital.
Prudential expects to receive $650 million in ceding commissions and capital release from the Constellation deal.
Reinsurance
Reinsurance is insurance for insurance companies.
The original "direct writers" of products may make reinsurance deals for protection against catastrophic risk, such as the risks associated with major hurricanes, large earthquakes or severe influenza pandemics.
In other cases, direct writers may use reinsurance deals to dispose of unwanted blocks of business, to share risk with outside investors, or to put business in the hands of a company that operates under different accounting, tax or insurance rules.
