(April 6 – 16:35 ET) Desjardins-Laurentian Financial Corporation intends to merge its two life and health insurance subsidiairies, The Imperial Life Assurance Company of Canada and Desjardins-Laurentian Life Assurance Company Inc. (DLLA), by the end of 2001.

The new company would become the 7th largest life and health insurer in Canada. The new company will have 2,500 employees and serve four and a half million policyholders. Based on each company’s 2000 results, the new entity will have total assets under management of $13.4 billion and premium volume of $1.5 billion: triple Imperial’s current volume and 50% more than that of DLLA.

Among other things, the proposed merger requires that Imperial Life, a federally chartered company, be continued as a provincially chartered company (Québec). Imperial Life’s participating policyholders will be asked to vote on this change with the objective of merging Imperial Life and DLLA, which must then be approved by Canadian Parliament.

The proposed merger will not impact insurance coverages or contracts of Imperial Life or DLLA policyholders, nor will it affect day to day operations. In fact, the merger will be transparent for clients, sales partners and employees. Imperial Life and DLLA have been operating under a joint management structure and integrated business practices for the past three years. They have the same products, systems, common services. The merger will have virtually no impact on jobs, and the new company will maintain all existing administrative offices of the two merged companies in Toronto, Montreal, Lévis, Quebec City and in The Bahamas.

The proposed merger is subject to regulatory approval.
-IE Staff