Australia’s Westpac Group has completed the divesture of its New Zealand life insurance business, Westpac Life.

Fidelity Life, which is among New Zealand’s leading locally-owned life insurers, paid $269.44m for Westpac Life.

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As per the agreement, the acquired unit has been rebranded as Fidelity Insurance.

It has also formed a life insurance distribution partnership with Westpac NZ, which will see it distribute Fidelity Insurance products to its retail customers for the next 15 years.

The deal, which was announced in mid-2021, is aimed at allowing Westpac to focus on core banking operations. 

Westpac NZ CEO Catherine McGrath said: “This transaction allows our team at Westpac NZ to simplify what we do by focussing on banking and related services, while simultaneously building a relationship with a life insurance specialist who we know will look after our customers.

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“Fidelity Life is the largest New Zealand owned and operated life insurer with a singular focus on helping New Zealanders with their life insurance needs.”

The majority of the transaction was funded by Fidelity Life’s new investor Ngāi Tahu Holdings and its largest shareholder the NZ Super Fund. 

The sale will not have any impact on policies that are already in place. 

Fidelity Life CEO Melissa Cantell said: “From today we officially welcome around 50 new team members, 150,000 customers, a new large shareholder in Ngāi Tahu Holdings and a new strategic alliance partner in Westpac NZ to the Fidelity Life whānau.

“Completing this acquisition is an important step towards our aspiration to reimagine life insurance for New Zealanders. It will allow us to leverage the investments we’re making in data and technology, dial-up our strong New Zealand brand even further and ultimately help more New Zealanders get the benefits of insurance protection.”