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Quick guide

Protection of life assurance contracts in Ireland - quick reference guide

Criteria Ireland
Regulatory background The life assurance providers are authorised by the Irish Financial Regulator.
Regulation is in line with the UK system.
European Union Life Directives apply.
Frequency of reporting regulator Yearly audited accounts.
We report our position on a quarterly basis.
Reserving strength Reserves calculated on a prudent basis.
Formal resilience test to stock market changes.
Formal check to make sure there are enough resources to close to new business and meet policyholder obligations in a wind-up situation.
Signed off by the appointed actuary.
Asset segregation Policyholder and shareholder assets are segregated.
Minimum solvency margin requirement The minimum solvency margin is the amount by which an insurance company's assets must exceed its liabilities. The margin varies between insurance companies, and is calculated using a combination of the assets, reserves, profits and other financial assets the company holds.
Custodianship There's no requirement to appoint a third-party custodian. However, we choose to hold most of our policyholder assets with a third-party custodian bank.
Policyholders preferred creditor on wind-up? Yes
Policyholder protection scheme* If we couldn't meet our liabilities, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme would protect a policyholder who was habitually resident in the UK when the contract started and is still habitually resident in the UK. Please note that some categories of investors are excluded. As a long-term insurance contract written by an insurer in a European Economic Area state, the bond is a protected contract of insurance. The limits for a claim of this nature are:
90% of the value of the whole claim, without limit.

*Please note that these compensation schemes only pay out if the insurance company is unable to meet its liabilities. If the provider of an underlying investment, such as a unit trust or deposit account, can't meet its liabilities these compensation schemes are not applicable. The insurance company may, but is unlikely to, be able to apply for compensation under any scheme covering such investment.