Aflac Agrees to Acquire Zurich North America Group Benefits Business
The unit handles group life, disability and absence management products.
Aflac Inc. may be about to compete harder for group business at large employers.
The Columbus, Georgia, company has agreed to acquire Zurich North America’s U.S. corporate life and pensions business. The business is best known for its group life, disability and absence management products.
(Related: Aflac Adds Group Worksite Life Product)
Traditionally, Aflac has been best known for selling individual products at the worksite.
Aflac is making the Zurich North America group benefits deal by having a subsidiary based in Georgia and a subsidiary based in New York reinsure Zurich North America’s U.S. in-force group life and disability policies, Aflac says.
The business being reinsured generates about $115 million in annualized earned premium.
Aflac will also get the assets needed to support the group life and disability business written, an absence management program, and the assets and employees of a group benefits support organization, Benefit Harbor Insurance Services.
Zurich has agreed to offer Aflac group benefits products to Zurich clients that have employees in the United States.
Aflac hopes to close on the deal sometime between July 1 and Dec. 31.
“It is anticipated that Zurich North America employees dedicated to the U.S. group life and disability business will transfer to Aflac,” Aflac says.
In 2019, Aflac acquired a company that writes vision and dental insurance, Argus Dental and Vision.
The Zurich North America deal, along with the Argus deal, “enhances our position on the first page of the employee benefits enrollment,” Richard Williams Jr., the chief distribution officer at Aflac U.S., said in a comment on the deal.
Aflac will now be able to offer brokers and employers a more comprehensive set of products, Williams said.
Teresa White, president of Aflac U.S., said Aflac aims to be number one distributor of benefit solutions for the U.S. workforce.
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