AIG Life Ltd, a UK subsidiary of AIG Life & Retirement, has agreed to acquire Ellipse, a specialist provider of group life risk protection in the UK, from Munich Re.

In a statement, American International Group said: “Ellipse’s group protection capabilities, which include life, critical illness and income protection products, along with its technology-enabled business model with high levels of straight through processing, will position AIGLL to efficiently manage group risk schemes for companies of all sizes.”

Kevin Hogan, executive vice-president and chief executive officer, AIG Life & Retirement, said: “The acquisition of Ellipse reflects our disciplined approach to selectively expanding our existing Life & Retirement businesses while pursuing opportunistic growth. Ellipse brings a strong team with a scalable business platform to our well-positioned, technology-driven UK life business. We look forward to welcoming the Ellipse team to AIG.”

Since its launch in 2009, Ellipse has grown to become the sixth largest UK group life provider based on 2017 new business volumes. As of May, the company holds approximately £64 million ($84.4 million) of in-force premiums and nearly 4,500 in-force policies covering over 370,000 lives.

The transaction, the terms of which were not disclosed, will be fully funded with cash. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019, subject to required regulatory approval.