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Canada Life Members

Transfer of a book of business made up of Pension and Life Business from Canada Life to Scottish Friendly


What has happened?

In June 2018 Scottish Friendly signed a transfer agreement to purchase a book of business made up of a wide range of Life, Pensions and Protection business from Canada Life. The transfer of the business subject to Court approval, was sanctioned on 22nd October 2019 and was completed on 1st November 2019, from which point the administration of Canada Life policies was transferred to Scottish Friendly.


Information on the transfer

An Independent Expert, Simon Grout of Oliver Wyman, was appointed and approved by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) to report on the effects of the transfer on policyholders including the financial security of the legal entities involved. The Independent Expert provided his conclusions in the Independent Expert’s Report which was considered by the Court prior to sanctioning the transfer.

A Part VII transfer is the legal process to transfer insurance business from one insurance company to another. The transfer can only take place with the approval of the Court. The Court receives reports from the UK financial services regulators, the PRA and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as well as the Independent Expert.

The Independent Expert prepared two documents:

  • Independent Expert’s Report: This report details the effects of the transfer on both Canada Life and Scottish Friendly policyholders and how each conclusion has been reached.
  • Independent Expert’s summary report: This report provides an overview of the transfer and sets out the Independent Expert’s conclusions on the effect of the transfer on policyholders. It's been created to give policyholders a good understanding of the terms of the scheme and the consequences for their policies.

You can find the Independent Expert’s full report and summary of the report in the ‘Important Documents’ section below. The Independent Expert published a supplementary report before the final court hearing (Sanctions Hearing), which took place on 22nd October 2019.

The Chief Actuary and the With-Profits Actuary of Scottish Friendly both wrote their own reports on the effects of the transfer. You can find both these reports in the ‘Important Document’ Section below.

Further supplementary reports from the Actuaries were also made available prior to the Sanctions Hearing. These documents outlined any changes since the first reports detailed above.

The Scheme Document is the legal document that sets out the terms of the transfer in the UK. You can find a copy of the Full Scheme and a Summary of the Scheme in the ‘Important Documents’ section below.

Additionally, you will find copies of the explanatory note sent to the Delegates of Scottish Friendly ahead of the Special General Meeting (SGM) on 16th July 2019 where a vote was held on the proposed transfer of business.


Important Documents


Jersey and Guernsey policyholders

The transferring business included a small number of policies comprising business carried in or from within Jersey or Guernsey, or which are held by people resident in Jersey or Guernsey. The transfer of these policies was subject to the approval of separate schemes by the Royal Courts in Jersey and Guernsey, with similar terms as the UK transfer. We refer to these as the "overseas schemes".

You can find further details about the overseas schemes in Appendix 3 to the Customer Guide. The court hearings to consider the overseas schemes took place as follows:

  • Jersey scheme: 28 October 2019 at 10 am at the Royal Court of Jersey, Royal Court Building, Royal Square, St Helier, Jersey JE1 1JG
  • Guernsey scheme: 25 October 2019 at 9.30 am at the Royal Court of Guernsey, The Royal Court House, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 2NZ

The overseas schemes were implemented at the same time as the UK transfer, on 1 November 2019.

You can find the drafts of the legal documents setting out the terms of the overseas schemes below:


Contact us

If you wish to contact us in relation to this Part VII, please call 0333 135 9539, fill out this form or write to us at Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited, Scottish Friendly House, 16 Blythswood Square, Glasgow G2 4HJ

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