Athene, a retirement services company and subsidiary of Apollo Global Management, Inc., has announced that it will enter into a block reinsurance transaction with Japanese insurer Sony Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
Under the agreement, Athene will reinsure an in-force block of U.S. dollar-denominated whole life insurance policies and will enter into an agreement with Swiss Re to retrocede all associated mortality risk.
This is Athene’s second block reinsurance transaction and its eighth transaction with Japanese insurers since entering the market five years ago, bringing the total transaction volume with Japanese cedants to approximately $19 billion.
Katie Daly, EVP and Global Head of M&A, Reinsurance and Pensions at Athene, said, “Japanese insurers are increasingly turning to more tailored solutions and flexible capital to enhance their financial strength and advance policyholders’ goals.
“Our retirement and capital expertise put us in a strong position to address needs unique to the Japan market.”
Yasuo Kashiwagi, Head of Japan at Apollo, added, “Apollo and Athene’s growing presence in Japan is a direct result of our differentiated model’s ability to bring in capital to support Japanese policyholders.
“The combination of balance sheet strength and world-class asset management capabilities fits well with deeper shifts underway in Japan and enables us to provide safe yield solutions to Japanese retirees and savers in an aligned way.”
AloJapan.com