In another instance of the on-going consolidation of the life insurance sector in Europe and of European banks selling their insurance subsidiaries, Monceau Assurances, a French composite insurer, announced the acquisition of Vitis Life Luxembourg from KBL European Private Bankers on July 7, 2015. KBL is owned by Precision Capital, based in Qatar.

Vitis Life specializes in life insurance for high net-worth individuals (HNWI) and sells mostly unit-linked products in Benelux, France, Italy and Spain, including through the network of KBL branches. With this acquisition, Monceau, a mutual insurance company, appears to begin an expansion drive outside of France.

Key figures Vitis Life 2014 (EUR): premiums written 238m, net income 13.6m, mathematical reserves 2.1bn; 50 employees.

Luxembourg-based life insurance companies derive most of their sales from other European countries, operating under freedom-of-services (FOS) and EU Life Directive 2002/83 rules, and taking advantage of Luxembourg’s flexibility regarding product design – especially in respect of admissible assets – and particularly good protection of policyholders in case of insurer bankruptcy. Their products are suitable for expatriates and internationally mobile staff, either as individual or as group policies.