Transferring policies to Countrywide Assured

Section 2 - The independent expert and review of the transfer

• What is the role of the Independent Expert?

  The role of the Independent Expert is to prepare a report on the terms of the transfer to assist the High Court in understanding the likely effects on all policyholders and whether they are being treated fairly.

• Who is the Independent Expert?

  The Independent Expert is Mr Philip Simpson of Milliman LLP, an actuarial and consulting firm. Mr Simpson is an actuary who is independent of the companies involved in the Scheme. His appointment and the form of his report have been approved by the PRA, in consultation with the FCA.

• What are the conclusions of the Independent Expert’s report?

  “I have considered and analysed the effects and the impact of the Scheme on all of the policyholders of Canada Life and Countrywide, including the Transferring Policies.

  In my opinion, the implementation of the Scheme will not have any material adverse effect on any of the following:

  • The reasonable benefit expectations of the policyholders of Canada Life and
  • The security of the benefits of the policyholders of Canada Life and Countrywide.
  • The levels of administration and customer service, management and governance that apply to the policyholders of Canada Life and Countrywide.”

• Who else has considered the terms of the transfer?

  The Chief Actuaries of both Canada Life and Countrywide, as well as Countrywide's With- profits Actuary, have each considered the terms of the transfer and prepared reports for the board of directors of their respective companies. Each of those actuaries has concluded that the transfer will not have a material adverse effect on the security or benefit expectations of any of the two companies’ policyholders.