Grant Thornton Ltd., court-appointed liquidator of Union of Canada Life Insurance, has signed an agreement with The Union Life Mutual Assurance Company (UL Mutual) of Drummond, Que. that will see UL Mutual assume responsibility for all the policies of Ottawa-based Union of Canada Life Insurance.
The agreement is subject to the approval of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, where the application is expected to be heard at the end of this month.
“A very competitive court-supervised sales process occurred which resulted in the selection of UL Mutual as the successful purchaser,” said Michael Creber, the Grant Thornton partner in charge of the liquidation. “We are very pleased that the policyholders of Union of Canada Life Insurance will continue to be serviced without interruption,” Creber added.
Since Union of Canada Life Insurance was placed into liquidation on February 2, 2012, Grant Thornton has worked closely with Assuris, the not for profit organization that protects Canadian policyholders in the event their life insurance company fails.
Gordon Dunning, Assuris president and CEO, stated, “on transfer of the policies, 99% of the policyholders will be fully protected. For the one per cent of policyholders with benefits over the Assuris limits, Assuris guarantees that these policyholders will retain at least 85% of their insurance benefits. This includes death benefits, health expenses, cash values and monthly income. Policyholders with deposit-type products, such as accumulation annuities, that are over the Assuris limits will retain at least $100,000 of their accumulated value.”
Over the next few weeks, the Grant Thornton will be working closely with UL Mutual and Assuris to finalize transition arrangements and to ensure the timely and seamless transfer of the policies. “Shortly, each policyholder will receive a letter outlining how their benefits are protected. Policyholders are advised to continue paying their premiums as usual to ensure there is no interruption in their insurance coverage,” said Creber.