Pensions strategy for a leading European insurer
Reviewed this major insurer’s pensions strategy in light of an anticipated and undefined regulatory overhaul, equipping it for every scenario.
We worked closely with management to develop regulatory reform scenarios and the strategic implications of each. This culminated in a series of ‘no regret moves’ and action plans to follow in each of four possible scenarios as more clarity emerged on the reforms, resulting in our client being well-prepared as the reforms played out.
Context
Our client was a composite insurer whose collective pensions arm was top 3 in its national market. A major change in the regulatory regime was anticipated but as yet undefined, and the client needed to review their strategy in anticipation of possible scenarios.
Approach
We worked with internal management and experts to assess public information on the plans for pension reform, and developed four scenarios on how the reforms could play out.
For each scenario, we identified strategic implications and the actions our clients could take, and assessed probabilities.
The resulting action plan included ‘no regret moves’ in any scenario, and a roadmap to follow as clarity on the reforms began to emerge.
Impact
The board agreed the strategy, and implemented the action plan, starting with the no regret moves.
Subsequently, the pension reforms took shape along the lines of the scenario we had indicated as most likely, leaving our client well-equipped to succeed in the new market context.