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The story behind the BT Pension Scheme’s record breaking longevity risk transfer with the Prudential Insurance Company of America will be told at an insurance masterclass in London next month.
The event, which takes place at the British Museum on Wednesday 14 October, features John Coles, Head of Operations for the BT Pension Scheme as keynote speaker. Mr Coles will outline how BT structured the £16 billion longevity swap and why a Guernsey-based structure was used.
The event will also include a panel debate comprising leading figures from the Guernsey and UK insurance communities. The discussion will examine captive insurance solutions as well as longevity trends, needs and future opportunities. It will also examine why Guernsey has been able to position itself so effectively in this area as a result of the use of cell company structures, regulation and guidance and reinsurance capacity.
Guernsey Finance Chief Executive Dominic Wheatley said: “Longevity risk has always been a key factor for pension schemes to consider, but with life expectancies increasing globally this issue has only been exacerbated and pension schemes have had to innovate new solutions. Captive insurance solutions utilising the cell company concept are now accepted as an efficient solution to deal with this issue. Our London event will explore and explain how these structures work.
“The fact that we will have John Coles, Head of Operations for the BT Pension Scheme, as keynote speaker is particularly exciting as he will be able to give the audience a fascinating insight into BT’s record-breaking deal with the Prudential Insurance Company of America. The value of having that knowledge on hand at this event cannot be underestimated.”
The panel session, which follows Mr Coles’ presentation, will be moderated by captive insurance veteran Malcolm Cutts-Watson and include panellists Ian Aley of Towers Watson; John Dunford of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC); Philip Jarvis of Allen & Overy LLP; Paul Kitson of PwC and Andy McAleese of Pacific Life RE.
Latest figures have revealed that the GFSC licensed 45 new international insurers during the first six months of this year, meaning there were a total of 816 licensed in Guernsey at the end of June 2015, made up of 244 limited companies, 67 PCCs, 393 PCC cells, 13 ICCs, 40 ICC cells and 59 life policy cells. This compares to a total of 797 GFSC-licensed international insurers at the end of December 2014, signifying a net growth of 19 so far this year.
The event, titled "Longevity – is there life in captives?", is hosted by Guernsey Finance in conjunction with the Guernsey International Insurance Association (GIIA). Registration takes place from 4pm, with the event itself getting underway at 4.30pm. It will conclude with a networking drinks reception from 6pm.
