Western & Southern buys Gerber Life Insurance in $1.55 billion deal

Western & Southern buys Gerber Life Insurance in $1.55 billion deal
Gerber Life has $52 billion of life insurance in force and covers 3.6 million policies for individuals.
SEP 18, 2018

Western & Southern Financial Group has bought Gerber Life Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Nestlé, in a deal valued at $1.55 billion. Gerber Life, a direct-to-consumer life insurer, has $52 billion of life insurance in force and covers 3.6 million policies for individuals. (More: Life insurance is not for saving) Western & Southern, a Fortune 500 company, has six life insurance subsidiaries: Western & Southern Life Insurance Co., Western-Southern Life Assurance Co., Columbus Life Insurance Co., Integrity Life Insurance Co., Lafayette Life Insurance Co. and National Integrity Life Insurance Co. (More: New York issues final best-interest regulation for annuity, life insurance sales) The acquisition will expand Western & Southern's base of policyholders and increase its ratio of life insurance business to annuity business, the company said. The deal with Nestle, which acquired Gerber Life in 2007 from Gerber Products Co., will increase Western & Southern's assets to roughly $77.1 billion. (More: Why the super wealthy may want to fund life insurance with a loan)

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