What are STM Life’s plans for Brexit?

The Board of STM Life has concluded that action needs to be taken to ensure that the company can continue to service policyholders post-Brexit.

It is proposed that the group of STM Life policyholders resident in Gibraltar, the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands will be invited to transfer (or ‘novate’) their policy from STM Life to London & Colonial Assurance PCC Plc (’LCA’), a sister company in the STM Group, to ensure we can continue to service their policies post-Brexit.

LCA is a well capitalised protected cell company based in Gibraltar, with assets in excess of £300m and a solvency ratio of 273% at the end of 2017. Further details about LCA and its financial position can be found on the London & Colonial website (www.londoncolonial.com) at: Solvency Financial Condition

I am a UK, Gibraltar, Isle of Man or Channel Island resident policyholder of STM Life. What will happen to my policy?

We will shortly invite you to transfer your policy to LCA. In order to do this we will require your written agreement.

Subject to your consent, it is expected that the proposed transfer of your policy to LCA shall take place before 29 March 2019 (the effective date of Brexit).

Will my insurance contract be affected by the transfer from STM Life to LCA?

No. There will be no material change to the way in which you, as a policyholder, will be treated after the transfer. There will be no changes to the premiums, benefits, terms and conditions or administration of policies as a result of the transfer.

From a legal and technical perspective, the responsible insurer will change from STM Life to LCA, and the insurance obligations currently contained in your STM Life cell will transfer to an equivalent LCA cell. To maintain consistency for policyholders, the transferring policies will, as far as possible, retain the same policy and cell reference numbers.

After the transfer, policy claims and surrenders will be paid by the LCA cell, rather than the STM Life cell to which your insurance contract was originally assigned.

What is happening to STM Life then?

It is proposed to move STM Life to Malta as a non-PCC (i.e. STM Life will cease to be registered as a Protected Cell Company upon re-domiciliation to Malta), to become the focus for clients resident in the EU and the Rest of the World. This means STM Life will stop being a Gibraltar registered company and become a Maltese company. This is planned, subject to regulatory approval, to occur ahead of the UK leaving the European Union (EU) in March 2019.

What happens if I do not give my consent to this proposed transfer of my policy?

Without your consent we will not be able to transfer your policy and it will stay with STM Life. Post-Brexit, based on our current understanding, STM Life will not be able to service and administer your policy as a non-EU resident policyholder. We will therefore need to work with you to surrender, transfer or otherwise terminate your policy prior to 29 March 2019.