Assurant looks to make changes. . .including divesting Global Preneed division

November 2, 2020/Finance, Preneed/

Last week Assurant, the large financial conglomerate with operations in 21 countries, announced that they would acquire mobile device software as a service (SaaS) business HYLA. You can read about that in this Associated Press release.

In conjunction with that announcement, Assurant also made other announcements including a strategy to divest themselves of what they term their Global Preneed Division. Assurant has been in the preneed business for over 50 years and you can read about that division here.

Here are some excerpts from the above referenced press release:

“Assurant, a leading global provider of lifestyle and housing solutions that support, protect and connect major consumer purchases, today announced its decision to focus resources on its market-leading lifestyle and housing portfolio to capitalize on the attractive growth opportunities resulting from the convergence of the connected mobile device, car and home. . . .”

“. . .In parallel, Assurant announced that it initiated a process to evaluate strategic alternatives, including a potential sale, for its Global Preneed business, which provides pre-funded funeral insurance and related services. . . .”

“. . . Our Connected Living, Global Automotive and multifamily housing businesses represent the greatest opportunity to grow our innovative offerings, provide even more value to our clients and deliver seamless customer experiences. . . .”

“. . .the company is exploring a range of strategic alternatives for Global Preneed, including the possible sale of the business, to focus on opportunities within the broader lifestyle and housing portfolio. “

“. . With more than 2 million policyholders, Preneed is a global leader in pre-funded funeral insurance and other preneed solutions that help families prepare for final expenses. The business has been servicing its clients and their customers for more than 60 years and has had an exclusive relationship with Service Corporation International, the largest funeral provider in North America based on total revenues, for the last 22 years. . . . The business has a lower risk profile than traditional life businesses, with a high-quality asset base of $6 billion to support its liabilities.”

“. . . Our Global Preneed business has a compelling strategy, executed by talented employees and generates attractive returns and cash flow. We expect the evaluation of strategic alternatives for Preneed will generate interest from other potential owners and allow us to unlock significant value as this asset has been undervalued as part of Assurant’s overall portfolio . . .”

Goldman Sachs is serving as financial advisor to Assurant to assist in the exploration of strategic alternatives for its pre-funded funeral insurance business.

More news from the world of Death Care: