Cigna Corp. (CI: Quote) announced a definitive agreement with Berkshire Hathaway Life Insurance Company of Nebraska, a member of the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKa, BRKB) group, under which Berkshire will reinsure Cigna's Run-off Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefits or VADBe and Guaranteed Minimum Income Benefits or GMIB businesses effective February 4, 2013.
Cigna said it will fund this transaction with an incremental $100 million of parent company cash, approximately $1.8 billion of investment assets supporting the run-off businesses, and an estimated $300 million tax benefit associated with the transaction.
Cigna noted that Berkshire will assume 100% of Cigna's exposure up to $4 billion of future VADBe and GMIB claims, which is significantly in excess of current projections of future claims for this business. Cigna believes that the potential for actual claims to exceed the limit of the coverage from Berkshire is extremely remote.
Cigna said it expects to record the exit transaction as a special item in the first quarter of 2013, resulting in an after-tax charge of $500 million. The charge represents the amount of payment to Berkshire that is in excess of Cigna's recorded reserves. Realized capital gains resulting from the sale of investment assets supporting the business are expected to range between $50 million and $150 million after-tax, depending on whether the assets are sold externally or transferred to other internal portfolios.
Cigna said that its earnings outlook for 2013, which is based on adjusted income from operations, will not be impacted by this transaction. Cigna also said the transaction does not affect its outlook regarding capital that is available for deployment in 2013.
 | | To receive FREE breaking news email alerts for CIGNA Corp. and others in your portfolio |
|
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com
Business News