Intact merger and Pacific Life Re branch

Summary#

This Canada Gazette item contains two notices about insurance-company steps that affect the Canadian market. One notice says Intact Insurance Company and The Guarantee Company of North America plan to apply to merge into a single company. The other says Pacific Life Re International Limited (a Bermuda company) intends to apply to open a Canadian branch to do life reinsurance business.

What it does#

• Amalgamation

  • Intact Insurance Company and The Guarantee Company of North America intend to apply to the federal government under the Insurance Companies Act for letters patent to combine into one company named “Intact Insurance Company” (English) / “Intact Compagnie d’assurance” (French).
  • The proposed head office would be in Toronto, Ontario. The proposed effective date is April 1, 2021, or another date set in the letters patent.
  • The joint application was planned to be filed on or after August 31, 2020.

• Branch application

  • Pacific Life Re International Limited, incorporated in Bermuda, intends to apply to the Superintendent of Financial Institutions under subsection 574(1) of the Insurance Companies Act for permission to insure risks in Canada under its name.
  • It plans to offer life reinsurance and accident and sickness reinsurance in Canada.
  • The company’s head office is in Hamilton, Bermuda, and its planned Canadian chief agency would be in Toronto, Ontario.
  • The application was planned to be filed on or after September 10, 2020.

Who's affected#

• Customers and policyholders of Intact Insurance Company and The Guarantee Company of North America may eventually see administrative or branding changes after the merger.
• Canadian insurers that buy life reinsurance could be affected if Pacific Life Re International Limited enters the market (more reinsurance capacity or different pricing).
• Insurance brokers, competitors, and investors in the companies may notice business or market-structure effects.
• Regulators (the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and the federal Minister of Finance) are the decision-makers; the notices do not say whether or how public comments will be taken.

Why it matters#

• A merger between two insurers can change who manages policies, how claims are handled, and the shape of the market in Canada — customers might see changes in service or branding even if policy terms stay the same.
• A new foreign reinsurer setting up a Canadian branch can increase the supply of reinsurance for life and accident/sickness risks. That can affect how primary insurers price and manage those risks, which can eventually influence premiums or product availability for consumers.
• The notices are statements of intent and planned filings; they are not approvals. The government regulatory approvals are required before these changes take legal effect.