Insurance Business Transfers

In the last 12 months we have advised a number of insurers seeking to restructure their European insurance businesses. This appears to be a result of the current geopolitical and regulatory landscape, as well as a buoyant insurance mergers and acquisitions market. We expect this trend to continue as Brexit draws closer.

In the UK, Part VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 permits the transfer of insurance business, subject to the sanction of the High Court, to a transferee located within the UK or EEA (a Part VII Transfer). Part VII Transfers are commonly used in restructurings of insurance businesses.

However, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are not part of the UK or the EEA and so a Part VII Transfer may not apply to insurance business carried out on those Islands. As such, any insurer which has a presence in, or which has policyholders who are resident on these Islands, seeking to transfer policies to another insurance company will need to