Friends Provident in proposed purchase of BUPA

Commenting on the acquisition, Trevor Matthews, CEO of Friends, said: “This acquisition will strengthen our group risk product range and improve the profitability of our individual protection business.

“The BHA management team led by Steve Payne will bring additional highly valued expertise to the Friends team.”

The combination of BHA’s group life, critical illness, income protection and flexible benefits arrangements with Friends Provident’s group income protection scheme will allow Friends to offer a complete suite of group risk products to intermediaries alongside the group’s corporate pension proposition.

IFAs will have a range of protection solutions for their clients’ needs available from the Friends/AXA/BHA range which means they can choose the one most appropriate for each client.

BHA will be run as a stand-alone business within the Friends provident group for a period of up to a year. The managing director of BHA, Stephen Payne, will report directly to Trevor Matthews.

In addition to the proposed acquisition of BHA, and in the context of Bupa’s general review of its distribution arrangements, Friends and Bupa have agreed to explore ways in which Friends can introduce the Bupa private medical insurance product to its distribution channels and markets. Likewise Bupa can introduce the Friends insurance products to its distribution channels and markets.

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