Aviva is moving about £9bn worth of assets to Ireland, as it prepares for Brexit.
As reported by The Independent yesterday (February 20), the provider received approval from the High Court to transfer life policies worth €9bn (£7.8bn) to Dublin, which is to occur by March 29, before the UK officially exits the EU.
This follows the transfer of general insurance policies on February 1, worth £1bn.
In approving the switch to Dublin, Mr Justice Snowden said: "The evidence of [the transferor] is that the uncertainty over the Brexit negotiations means that if it delayed further and did nothing, there is a real risk that substantial numbers of policyholders would be materially prejudiced in event of a 'hard' [no-deal] Brexit by the loss of [the transferor’s] EU passporting rights."
He added that a hard Brexit would mean Aviva could not service policies through its overseas branches or pay policyholders’ claims in the EU.
A spokesperson for Aviva said: "We are transferring some of our customers’ policies in the European Economic Area to our Irish subsidiary, Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland, to ensure that when the UK leaves the EU we can continue to service these policies.
"For customers who are being transferred there will be no changes to the terms and conditions, cover or customer support of their policies."
maria.espadinha@ft.com
