Back in May, Macquarie Life announced that it had made the strategic decision to transfer part of its life insurance business to Zurich Australia.This proposal affects Macquarie Life's FutureWise, Active and Sumo policies, and many of our clients currently hold these type of policies.Currently, Macquarie Investment Management Limited (MIML) - the trustee of these policies - is reviewing details of the proposed transfer, including a report prepared by an independent actuary and the reports prepared by the actuaries appointed by Macquarie Life and Zurich.
In its announcement about the proposed transfer back in May, Macquarie Life said:"When the transfer is approved, all active policies will automatically move to Zurich. Policy holder’s rights and responsibilities– including your cover entitlements and the premiums payable – will not be impacted by the transfer. Provided you keep your cover in force, Zurich will honour all the terms and conditions of your policy, allowing you the peace of mind that your policy will continue to provide its valuable protection in the future.You will still need to pay your premium on time and in the agreed period (monthly/annually) for your policy to remain valid and in force. Applications for new policies not finalised by Macquarie Life by the transfer date will be transferred, and continue to be assessed by Zurich.Any claims not finalised by Macquarie before the transfer date will be assessed by Zurich, without needing to be resubmitted."
Zurich is a member of the Swiss based worldwide Zurich Insurance Group. Founded in Zurich, Switzerland in 1872, the Zurich Insurance Group is one of the world’s largest insurance based financial services groups, operating in more than 150 countries and employing around 55,000 people worldwide.An insurance specialist, Zurich has been helping Australians with their insurance needs for more than 80 years.
The terms of the proposed transfer require confirmation by the Federal Court in order to proceed.MIML will continue to review the proposed transfer and, depending on the views it forms, may determine that it is satisfied that it has no objections to the transfer, may request additional information from Macquarie Life and/or Zurich or MIML may request to be heard in court.MIML said in recent correspondence that they expect to be in a position to notify all affected of the outcome early in October 2016.If you have any questions about it, please feel free to contact us.