April 10, 2020
Willkie represented Zurich in the transaction.
On March 19, 2020, Zurich Insurance Group and Aflac (NYSE: AFL) entered into an agreement for the sale of Zurich North America’s U.S. Corporate Life and Pensions (Group Benefits) business, consisting of group life, disability and absence management products, to Aflac.
As part of the transaction, Aflac will reinsure on an indemnity basis Zurich North America’s U.S. in-force group life and disability policies. Aflac will also acquire assets needed to support the group and disability business from Zurich and a third party benefits platform administrator, as well as an absence management platform. In addition, after closing, the acquired group benefits business will be included as a partner within Zurich’s Global Employee Benefits Solutions Partner Network, allowing Aflac to leverage its employee benefits products to Zurich’s global clients with a U.S. presence.
As a provider of voluntary insurance products to businesses in the U.S., Aflac expands its portfolio of U.S. product offerings to brokers and employers and gains strategic synergies as a result of this acquisition. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2020 subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
The Willkie deal team was led by partners Thomas Cerabino, Sarah Wong and Michael Stern, senior counsel Donald Henderson and associate Annie Heiss.
