It'll be different this time; Asteron boss on Resolution deal

As an ex Res Lifer, I hope for the employees and clients sake, that it is different this time around.

Time will tell. My experience, as a customer of Resolution (ex AMP) on a WOL policy, is such that I would describe their customer care as abysmal.

Resolution Life are talking up a big game about the lessons they’ve learned from the AMP acquisition, and how this will be different with Asteron. Yet they continue to give diabolical service with no genuine attempt to improve. This arrogance and contempt makes me feel the promises they are currently making will not live up to expectations. How about fixing the AMP mess before another acquisition???

Time will tell whether current Asteron management are hopelessly naive or on the money believing that Resolution will change their spots. I hope the latter for the sake of customers. I think this will take a few years to play out. A year for Res Life to complete the deal and get their feet under the table. Then they will prob keep Asteron open for 2 years to give it a go. Given the Res track record of ruthlessly cutting costs (service is a cost) and lack of experience of writing new business it would be a hard ask to make this work but hope they can. Asteron has been around for donkeys years looking back at the old Amev, Royal, Sun Alliance, Aa Life Royal Life and others yet it only sold for $250m up front and the rest later prob after hurdles are met. The Japanese paid $1billion for Partners and all the constituent parts that became Asteron would have been worth a lot of coin.

Agree C Whitehead. I think the nuance to this is one of two things 1. Res Life have realised managing a term life book without new business, distribution and product design isn’t a good place to be. Buying Asterom adds this to the mix and creates a larger more valuable operation to go forward with. 2. The strategy is to merge things in time and then sell out as a complete operation retaining the value invested, or more, exiting their term life position as not being their business. That second one may be their approach in NZ, being that selling down the closed book isn't going to return anything close to what they invested and they want to divest their current position as a result. Either way, the combined position with Asteron Life becomes a better company for an overseas investor to pick up. There are plenty of large life insurers globally that see NZ an attractive place to do business.

I have been around in this profession for a number of decades, and have been working with Asteron from when it was Royal & Sun Alliance. This article and acquisition raises some questions and points for me: When I heard the news initially, I let out a groan which caused others in the office to ask what was wrong. Asteron Life executive general manager Grant Willis, is quoted as saying - ”Around 70% of advisers have said there will be no change”…… What an absolutely bizarre comment for him to make. The advisers will have zero decision making or input in that regard …………. Can anyone name one insurance company acquisition where a couple of years down the track, things haven’t changed A LOT, and usually not for the better? We have some legacy AMP policies. I have had the unfortunate experience needing to deal with Resolution Life around a couple of these. It was……… let’s say….. challenging….. to get the info I wanted, and to deal with them generally. The immediate outcome of this sale is an S&P financial strength rating downgrade for Asteron. I think that speaks volumes. Good luck Asteron, and the current staff there. I bet there are more changes coming than people imagine.

@Eyeinthesky and C Whitehead, we only have to look at RL's stated mission and point 2 https://www.resolutionlife.com/about-us/our-business-model/ to see their commitment to new business and adviser delivered business. Asteron claim Insurer of the year last year (albeit we live in a tiny market and who judges and awards that title?), they have as much chance of seeing that award again as the Eagles have of doing another Hell Freezes Over Tour. This is assuming the Comm/Comm approve the sale. Nothing an Asteron representative says can convince me this is good and I would imagine that a more focused insurer would have been a better purchaser. I predict new business will nose dive on this news.