Our insurance group is market-leading. We advise a large number of the major players in the UK insurance sector and have handled many of the major insurance sector transactions in recent years. The breadth of our practice encompasses the full range of work from multi-national to domestic, covering diverse aspects including mergers and acquisitions, financings, restructuring, risk transfer, investigations and regulatory advice.

We work closely with our asset management, pensions, disputes and tax colleagues to provide an integrated service across the entire waterfront of the sector.

We are recognised as a leading firm for insurance in London and the UK (Chambers UK and Legal 500 UK).

Slaughter and May has a balance of excellent technical skills with commercial pragmatism. They are the go-to firm for high-value and complex transactions.
Chambers UK

We advise on a wide range of insurance M&A. Recent experience includes advising:

  • Zurich on its recommended cash acquisition of Beazley and its acquisition of Generali’s non-life insurance business in Ireland.
  • Just Group on its recommended all-cash offer by Brookfield Wealth Solutions.
  • Reinet Investments SCA, CVC Capital Partners, HPS Investment Partners and a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority on the sale of Pension Insurance Corporation to Athora Holding UK.
  • Direct Line Group on its recommended acquisition by Aviva.
  • Allianz on its agreement with Sanlam to combine their operations across Africa (excluding South Africa).
  • Aviva on the acquisition of AIG’s UK protection business.
  • Ageas on the sale of its UK commercial lines front book business to AXA Insurance.
  • Aviva on the strategic divestment of a number of its businesses across Europe and Asia.

Our experience in this area includes advising on collateralised reinsurance structures, transformer deals and alternative risk transfer, including the use of longevity swaps. Recent experience includes advising:

  • A major insurer on funded reinsurance arrangements with RGA in respect of pension derisking transactions.
  • Challenger Life on its reinsurance from Phoenix Life of longevity risk in respect of the latter’s pension derisking business.
  • Zurich on its £6 billion longevity swap deal covering pension liabilities of the BBC pension scheme.
  • Canada Life on multiple collateralised longevity swaps with UK and EU counterparties, including PIC, Aegon, NN and Zurich.
  • Arrow Global on the establishment of Arrow Global Insurance, including the setting up of a Guernsey reinsurance carrier to underwrite specialty risks.
  • RiverStone on its reinsurance-to-close transactions with MS Amlin, ArgoGlobal and Coverys.
  • Legal & General on multiple reinsurance arrangements in respect of its pension derisking activities.
  • Zurich Insurance on the reinsurance of its $2 billion pre-2007 UK legacy employers’ liability portfolio with Catalina.

Our pensions risk transfer work combines the expertise of our insurance, financing and pensions practices. We have advised pension schemes, insurers, reinsurers and other financial institutions in this area. Our recent experience includes advising:

  • Hays on the derisking of the Hays Pension Scheme with Pensions Insurance Corporation.
  • Legal & General on multiple buy-in transactions with UK pension schemes (together with related reinsurance arrangements), including its £4.6 billion buy-in with Ford pension schemes - the largest buy-in transaction announced in the UK in 2025.
  • United Utilities on the partial buy-ins entered into with Legal & General by the trustees of two pension schemes sponsored by United Utilities.
  • Tata Steel UK on the full buy-in of the British Steel Pension Scheme, achieved by phased buy-ins with Legal & General totalling £7.5 billion of liabilities – BSPS is the largest scheme in the UK to have secured full insurance.
  • Intact Financial Corporation and RSA on the insurance of £6.5 billion of liabilities in total of RSA’s two main defined benefit pensions schemes with Pension Insurance Corporation.
  • Aviva on the de-risking of the Aviva Staff Pension Scheme via an insurance “conduit” directly to the reinsurance market.

We have a very active practice advising on transactions in the Lloyd’s sector, focusing in particular on equity investment, acquisitions and disposals and reinsurance arrangements. We advised:

  • the Lime Group in connection with the establishment of a new Lloyd’s Third Party Managing Agent.
  • MCI Holdco (UK) Limited on the launch of a new “syndicate-in-a-box”, Syndicate 1902.
  • OMERS on the UK aspects of its acquisition of a 14% stake in BRIT from Fairfax Financial Holdings.
  • RiverStone Management on its reinsurance-to-close transactions (“RITCs”) with ArgoGlobal and MS Amlin.
  • White Mountains on its investment of fresh capital and acquisition of a majority interest in Ark Insurance Holdings, the ultimate parent company of Ark Syndicate Management. Ark manages the underwriting of syndicates 4020 and 3092 at Lloyd’s.
  • RiverStone on its acquisition of the Neon Group (including Lloyd’s of London insurer, Neon) from American Financial Group and the associated disposal of Neon Sapphire to Spring Partners.
  • Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities business on its investment in Ki, the first fully digital and algorithmically-driven Lloyd’s syndicate.

Insurance business transfer schemes are a key technique for internal restructurings, demutualisations and risk transfers as well as on the sale of a business or a portfolio of business. We regularly advise on transfer schemes in all of these contexts. Our recent experience includes advising:

  • Zurich on the Part VII transfer of its UK legacy employers’ liability portfolio to Catalina.
  • Chesnara on the Part VII transfer of a portfolio of life insurance policies from Canada Life Limited to Countrywide Assured plc.
  • Zurich Insurance plc on its Brexit-related Part VII transfer of the majority of its existing UK branch business, representing over £2 billion of gross written premiums, to a newly-authorised UK branch of Zurich Insurance Company Limited.
  • Legal & General on the successful transfer of its mature savings business to ReAssure.
  • Canada Life on the transfer of insurance business from MGM Advantage Life Limited to Canada Life Limited.
  • Ageas and RiverStone on the transfer of general insurance and reinsurance policies from Ageas to RiverStone.

We have a strong financing practice which regularly advises many of the key players in the insurance sector on their debt capital markets programmes. Our recent work includes advising:

  • Aviva on its issuance of GBP500m RT1 notes for regulatory capital purposes.
  • Prudential on its issuance of $1 billion 2.95 per cent subordinated notes, intended to qualify as tier 2 capital under the Insurance (Group Capital) Rules of Hong Kong.
  • Just Group on the first issuances, by a UK insurer, of both a Green Bond comprising GBP250m fixed rate reset subordinated Tier 2 notes and a Sustainable Bond, comprising GBP 325m contingent convertible RT1 notes.
  • Athora on its EUR250,000,000 Tier 3 Term Loan Facility with a syndicate of banks. The term loans under the Facility constitute Tier 3 regulatory capital in Bermuda.
  • Bupa on its debt issuances of Tier 2 notes and contingent convertible RT1 notes under the Solvency II regime, including bespoke structuring and engagement with the PRA in light of the issuer’s status as an intermediate holding company without a listed holding company and the need to demonstrate availability of funds.

As a market leader in the field of equity capital markets, we are ideally placed to help our insurance sector clients on a range of capital issuances. Our recent experience includes advising:

  • Prudential on its US$2 billion share buyback programme.
  • Prudential on its equity raise of up to five per cent of its issued share capital on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, through a concurrent public offer in Hong Kong and an international placing to institutional investors.
  • esure and Gocompare.com Group plc on the demerger of Gocompare.com and listing on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
  • China Re on the US$2 billion (approx.) global offering and the listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange of its H shares.

We advise on a range of different distribution arrangements in the insurance sector.  Our recent work includes advising:

  • PT Bank Syariah Indonesia TBK’s on its entry into a bancassurance partnership with PT Prudential Sharia Life Assurance.
  • an insuretech client on its bespoke distribution arrangements with a mutual insurer under which the insurer will underwrite term life and critical illness insurance products developed and distributed by our client.
  • Standard Life Aberdeen (now abrdn) on the simplification and extension of its strategic partnership with Phoenix Group, including an extension of the strategic asset management partnership and the acquisition by Phoenix Group of the Standard Life brand.

  • FWD on its agreement with TMB Bank Public Company Limited to sell its bancassurance contract to Prudential for a consideration of THB20 billion.

  • Prudential in connection with the entry into of an exclusive bancassurance partnership over a 20-year term between Prudential Vietnam Assurance Private Limited and Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank.

We work closely with our Disputes and Investigations group to support insurance clients across a broad range of areas including regulatory investigations, competition enquiries, coverage disputes, policy interpretation issues, reinsurer insolvency, brokers’ liability and claims litigation. Our work in this area includes advising:

  • Aviva / Direct Line Group in respect of the PRA’s investigation and enforcement outcome relating to an historical miscalculation of Direct Line Group’s Solvency II balance sheet during 2023 and 2024.
  • Novitas Loans Limited, a subsidiary of Close Brothers, in relation to two claims brought in the Commercial Court by Novitas against two separate after-the-event insurers for breach of contract in relation to a failed litigation funding scheme.
  • a client on the interpretation of trade credit reinsurance protection arrangements.
  • an insurer on a breach of warranty claim arising out of a business transfer agreement.
  • Aviva, Allianz, CNA, Liberty Mutual, MS Amlin and Zurich in relation to business interruption insurance claims brought by various English Premier League football clubs in respect of losses suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • a number of insurers in respect of other COVID-19 related business interruption insurance and reinsurance claims, including advice on the land-mark financial markets test case brought by the FCA and ongoing advice in relation to a number of complex reinsurance arbitrations.
  • an insurance client in respect of the FCA’s thematic review of the sale of enhanced annuities and subsequent past business review and redress programme.

We have an unparalleled track record of advising on major insurance company demutualisations. We also have experience of advising on smaller transactions utilising demutualisations and on the restructuring of life funds. Our experience includes advising:

  • Aviva on the post-acquisition integration of Direct Line Insurance Group plc, including advice in respect of corporate restructuring, regulatory and contractual matters.
  • Prudential on the demerger of Jackson Financial Inc. and its subsidiaries, which include Jackson National Life, the US life insurance business.
  • Prudential on the demerger of its UK and Europe business (M&G Prudential) from Prudential plc, resulting in two separately-listed companies.
  • each of the Department of Health and Social Care and the Welsh Government on the establishment of new clinical negligence schemes for GPs.
  • a number of insurance groups on Brexit-related restructuring plans.
  • on the demutualisation and flotations of Standard Life, Old Mutual, Norwich Union, Colonial Mutual and Irish Life.

We have advised the UK Government on a number of insurance-related schemes, including on schemes put in place to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  This work has brought together our insurance expertise and our long track record of advising Government departments, in particular dating back to the 2008 financial crisis.  Our work in this area has included advising:

  • the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on the Government-backed professional indemnity insurance scheme for external wall system assessors.
  • the Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport on the UK Live Events Reinsurance Scheme put in place by the U.K. Government in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
  • the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy on the £10 billion Trade Credit Reinsurance Scheme put in place by U.K. Government in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
  • the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the commercial, State aid and regulatory aspects of setting up the £500 million Film and TV Production Restart Scheme put in place by the UK Government in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
  • the Department of Health and Social Care on the insurance, regulatory, commercial and State aid aspects of the introduction of a new State backed indemnity schemes for NHS general practice.