LSE.co.uk
HomeShare PricesShare ChatFinance NewsSharecast NewsRegulatory NewsBlogsLive PricesShares BookshopFinance ToolsMembers
Latest Share Chat
Finance & Stock Market News
Equitable Life outsourcing deal to save 8 mln stg
Mon, 23rd Nov 2009 12:12
LONDON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - British life insurer Equitable Life said it expected savings of 8 million pounds ($13.29 million) this year after appointing pensions firm HCL to administer its book of policies, replacing Lloyds Banking Group .
Customer-owned Equitable Life, which was forced to stop accepting new business nine years ago after the cost of paying guaranteed bonuses to some policyholders left it short of cash, said the switch to HCL would also allow it to cut its provisions for future costs by more than 100 million pounds.
'This is one of the most important decisions in the society's history,' Equitable Life chief executive Chris Wiscarson said.
'I want to help restore policyholders' savings and this is an important step in that direction.'
The insurer said up to 240 jobs could go as a result of the changeover, with HCL expected to retain about 100 of 340 Lloyds employees currently working on the Equitable contract.
HCL, part of
Indian IT services group HCL Technologies , will start administering Equitable's policies when the existing contract with Lloyds expires in March 2011.
The contract with HCL is scheduled to run until Equitable's policies have ended, expected to take at least 30 years, the insurer said.
($1=.6020 Pound)
(Reporting by Myles Neligan; editing by Simon Jessop) Keywords: EQUITABLE/
(myles.neligan@reuters.com; +44 207 542 13 73)
COPYRIGHT
Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.
The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Customer-owned Equitable Life, which was forced to stop accepting new business nine years ago after the cost of paying guaranteed bonuses to some policyholders left it short of cash, said the switch to HCL would also allow it to cut its provisions for future costs by more than 100 million pounds.
'This is one of the most important decisions in the society's history,' Equitable Life chief executive Chris Wiscarson said.
'I want to help restore policyholders' savings and this is an important step in that direction.'
The insurer said up to 240 jobs could go as a result of the changeover, with HCL expected to retain about 100 of 340 Lloyds employees currently working on the Equitable contract.
HCL, part of
The contract with HCL is scheduled to run until Equitable's policies have ended, expected to take at least 30 years, the insurer said.
($1=.6020 Pound)
(Reporting by Myles Neligan; editing by Simon Jessop) Keywords: EQUITABLE/
(myles.neligan@reuters.com; +44 207 542 13 73)
COPYRIGHT
Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.
The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
