Generali has entered into an agreement with a subsidiary of Reinsurance Group of America (RGA) for the sale of the life run-off portfolio of its UK branch, subject to completion of the customary collateral settlement procedures.

As part of the overall transaction, Generali has signed a reinsurance contract which will cover all claims payments arising from most of that legacy business and the remaining minor portion will be transferred directly to the counterparty.

The portfolio consists of mainly annuity business and the transfer of the whole identified book of business will take place following the approval of the competent authorities.

Generali disclosed that the sale will further strengthen its capital position with an estimated increase of around 1 percentage point on the Group Regulatory Solvency Ratio and allows to concentrate on the core business.

Cristiano Borean, Generali group chief financial officer, said: “Thanks to the sale of this run-off portfolio, we are going to release resources that we can reinvest in new opportunities. The operation also further improves the operating efficiency of our UK Branch."