Sagicor Life to Acquire Pemco Mutual’s Life Insurance Business

Sagicor Life Insurance Co. said it has agreed to acquire the outstanding shares of Pemco Life Insurance Co. from the Washington State-based Pemco Mutual Insurance Co. If approved, Sagicor Life would gain about 10,000 term and whole life policies and 7,500 new customers.

Pemco decided to exit the life insurance business to concentrate on its core business of personal lines property/casualty insurance. The deal needs regulatory approval from Washington'sOffice of the Insurance Commissioner.

The Austin, Texas-based Sagicor Life says it administers about $1.8 billion of in-force insurance business and manages about $870 million in assets. It's a subsidiary of Sagicor Financial Corp. of Barbados, which operates in 22 countries including the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Licensed in 44 states and the District of Columbia, Sagicor Life sells term, whole life, universal life and annuities that are marketed mostly through independent and general agents.

Last July, A.M. Best Co. said of Sagicor Financial Corp. and its subsidiaries that the group's overall consolidated earnings performance, excluding its Lloyds operation, has been consistently positive. Given its diversified geographical reach in the Caribbean region, the group remains a formidable regional player in its life and property/casualty operations (Best's News Service, July 25, 2011)

But offsetting factors included the weak economic environment in the Caribbean region and the negative impact of natural catastrophe losses globally, which may pose challenges for the group, despite the recent restructuring of its Lloyds Operation. The increase in year-over-year revenue growth and net income, excluding losses in its Lloyds Operation, has been modest and reflected the challenge of top line growth due to the mature nature of the life insurance market in the Caribbean (Best's News Service, July 25, 2011).

Attempts to speak with Sagicor Life were unsuccessful. Pemco Life "has provided quality life insurance products to the communities in the State of Washington since 1963," said Bart Catmull, Sagicor's chief operating officer, in a statement.

Sagicor Life Insurance Co. currently has a Best Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent). Pemco Life Insurance Co. currently has a Best Financial Strength Rating of B+ (Good).

(By Fran Matso Lysiak, senior associate editor, BestWeek: [email protected])