Fidelity completes TOWER buy

The transaction makes Fidelity Life the largest New Zealand owned insurer and the third-largest life insurer in the country. Fidelity Life is privately owned, mostly through the interests of its founders Gordon and Shirley Watson, and also by its staff and management.

“As a fiercely proud Kiwi company we are always looking for ways to grow our share of the market and compete against the largely foreign-owned life insurance providers that operate in New Zealand,” chief executive Milton Jennings said.

“This deal gives us the scale and resources to deliver a much more compelling life insurance alternative to what the banks can provide.”

The transaction was first announced in May of this year and has taken just a few months to complete. Fidelity Life assumes responsibility for about 60,000 new insurance policyholders, which takes its in-force premium to around $200 million annually.