Prudential Financial has closed on a deal passing immediate responsibility for about $11 billion in guaranteed universal life exposure to Wilton Re through a reinsurance agreement.
The deal, which was announced in August, helped Prudential shed more than one-quarter of the $38 billion of guaranteed universal life exposure it started with in July 2023, when it announced a reinsurance deal with another reinsurer, Somerset Re, for $12.5 billion in guaranteed universal life reserves. The company now has about $16 billion in exposure to universal life guarantees.
The deal is part of Prudential's effort to focus on offering products, like registered indexed-linked annuities, that use less capital.
By reducing the amount of capital Prudential needs to support the policies, the deals have helped the Newark, New Jersey-based company make about $800 million in cash available for other purposes.
Prudential will still have to take ultimate responsibility for the benefits being paid, and the company said it will continue to service the policies involved and handle all relationships with the policyholders and distributors.
