Prudential Financial confirms $2.35 bln buy of Assurance IQ
Summary
Using a combination of advanced data science and human expertise, Assurance matches buyers with customized solutions spanning life, health, Medicare and auto insurance, giving them options to purchase entirely online or with the help of a technology-assisted live agent. Assurance’s innovative model also matches consumers with the live agent or specific sales process that is best suited to their needs, resulting in better customer outcomes that drive higher levels of engagement and conversion. This approach is underpinned by an ongoing shift in consumer preferences, whereby individuals increasingly begin their research for personalized financial services online and then seek consultation with human experts to complete their purchase. “Assurance accelerates the strategy and growth potential of Prudential’s financial wellness businesses, bringing us closer to more people across the entire socio-economic spectrum to better serve the full picture of their needs,” said Prudential Chairman and CEO Charles Lowrey. These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and there are certain important factors that could cause actual results to differ, possibly materially, from expectations or estimates reflected in such forward-looking statements, including, purchase price adjustments; the successful fulfillment or waiver of all closing conditions without unexpected delays or conditions; the successful closing of the transaction within the estimated timeframe; the failure to realize the expected synergies and benefits of the transaction or delay in realization thereof; the successful financing of the transaction; the retention of certain key employees; and other factors, risks and uncertainties including: (1) losses on investments or financial contracts due to deterioration in credit quality or value, or counterparty default; (2) losses on insurance products due to mortality experience, morbidity experience or policyholder behavior experience that differs significantly from our expectations when we price our products; (3) changes in interest rates, equity prices and foreign currency exchange rates that may (a) adversely impact the profitability of our products, the value of separate accounts supporting these products or the value of assets we manage, (b) result in losses on derivatives we use to hedge risk or increase collateral posting requirements and (c) limit opportunities to invest at appropriate returns; (4) guarantees within certain of our products which are market sensitive and may decrease our earnings or increase the volatility of our results of operations or financial position; (5) liquidity needs resulting from (a) derivative collateral market exposure, (b) asset/liability mismatches, (c) the lack of available funding in the financial markets or (d) unexpected cash demands due to severe mortality calamity or lapse events; (6) financial or customer losses, or regulatory and legal actions, due to inadequate or failed processes or systems, labor and employment, external events and human error or misconduct such as (a) disruption of our systems and data, (b) an information security breach, (c) a failure to protect the privacy of sensitive data or (d) reliance on third parties; (7) changes in the regulatory landscape, including related to (a) financial sector regulatory reform, (b) changes in tax laws, (c) fiduciary rules and other standards of care, (d) U.S. state insurance laws and developments regarding group-wide supervision, capital and reserves, (e) insurer capital standards outside the U.S. and (f) privacy and cybersecurity regulation; (8) technological changes which may adversely impact companies in our investment portfolio or cause insurance experience to deviate from our assumptions; (9) an inability to protect our intellectual property rights or claims of infringement of the intellectual property rights of others; (10) ratings downgrades; (11) market conditions that may adversely affect the sales or persistency of our products; (12) competition; (13) reputational damage; and (14) the costs, effects, timing, or success of our plans to accelerate our Financial Wellness strategy.