UV Insurance has acquired a life and health insurance block from BMO Insurance, the Drummondville, Quebec-based mutual announced in a press release sent to Insurance Portal on June 9, 2025. The transaction was completed on June 6.
“This transaction will allow BMO Life to focus on strategically growing core segments,” a BMO Insurance spokesperson told Insurance Portal in an email exchange. BMO Insurance is the brand name for BMO Life Assurance Company.
BMO clarified that the deal is assumption reinsurance transaction, as defined and regulated by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI). “Upon completion of this transaction, UV Insurance will be responsible for the transferred policies as if UV Insurance had originally issued the policies,” said the BMO spokesperson.
He declined to disclose further details, adding only that BMO will work closely with UV Insurance to ensure a smooth transition for policyholders.
200,000 policies and $50 million in premiums
In an interview with Insurance Portal, UV Insurance’s Senior Vice-President, Actuarial and Finances, Pierre Parenteau, revealed that the deal involves approximately 200,000 policies representing about $50 million in total premiums. “It’s the largest transaction in our history,” he added.
Parenteau noted that the policies come from two business lines where UV Insurance previously had no presence: just over 180,000 policies were sold via direct marketing, while around 15,000 are participating whole life policies.
The direct marketing segment includes critical illness, term life, accidental death, fracture, and hospital insurance. As for the participating whole life block, Parenteau explained that many are “older paid-up policies that no longer generate new premiums.”
Between these two segments, BMO retained what Parenteau described as “a few smaller legacy products” housed on outdated systems – examples include small whole life and funeral expense policies.
According to Parenteau, the number of new clients gained through the acquisition closely mirrors the number of policies. Most are existing Bank of Montreal clients, whom UV Insurance can now consider its own. “We could market to them through our advisor network, but our short-term focus is on integrating the block,” he said.
Increased profitability
We are a small insurer. Achieving a certain critical mass helps us absorb rising costs – Pierre Parenteau
Parenteau says UV Insurance acquired the block primarily to boost profitability. “We are a small insurer. Achieving a certain critical mass helps us absorb rising costs,” he said. “Growth through acquisition will help us reach that critical mass faster and significantly improve profitability.”
The 200,000 policies add minimal cost to UV Insurance’s existing base of roughly 250,000 policies, he underlined. “This is a major efficiency gain for us. It lowers our unit costs.”
In its press release announcing the transaction, CEO Christian Mercier noted that recent investments in technology have enabled UV Insurance to improve services, and seamlessly integrate new blocks of business with minimal additional costs.
So far, UV Insurance has migrated all the direct marketing policies to its systems, Parenteau said. “Over the coming months, we’ll migrate the rest. By next year, UV Insurance won’t have any remaining policies on its old platforms.”
More transactions to come
Parenteau shared that he first approached BMO Insurance in 2023, shortly after Rohit Thomas was appointed President and CEO of BMO Insurance. Parenteau said he targeted BMO specifically because of his previous work with Thomas at TD Bank in the early 2020s.
BMO was open to selling the block that was ultimately transferred on June 6. Although UV Insurance had no interest in acquiring the participating whole life policies, BMO made it clear that all policies had to be part of the deal.
Parenteau said the OSFI regulations surrounding assumption reinsurance made the deal complex, in addition to the usual regulatory approvals required by the Autorité des marchés financiers. “The federal regulator wants to ensure that participating policyholders are not disadvantaged by the transaction,” he noted.
Despite the challenges, Parenteau is now more open to this niche segment. “Now that we’ve paved the way, if another opportunity with participating policies comes along, we’ll know how to handle it.”
He also confirmed that UV Insurance intends to make block acquisitions a core strategic focus. “This won’t be the last transaction. We’ll be knocking on the doors of any company looking to offload legacy portfolios housed on outdated systems. These systems raise all sorts of issues related to privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity,” he said.
