Proposed transfer of Swiss Re’s Australian direct life insurance portfolio to Hannover Re

In July 2023, Swiss Re Life & Health Australia Limited (Swiss Re) stopped writing new life insurance policies in Australia through its direct insurance channel. 

In April 2025, Swiss Re entered into an agreement with Hannover Life Re of Australasia Ltd (Hannover Re) to acquire Swiss Re's direct life insurance business. 

In August 2025, Swiss Re and Hannover Re applied to the Federal Court of Australia (the Court) to transfer Swiss Re's existing direct life insurance business to Hannover Re under Part 9 of the Life Insurance Act 1995 (Cth) (the Scheme).

If the Court confirms the Scheme and regulatory approvals are obtained, the transfer will proceed, and Hannover Re will become the new insurer of Swiss Re's direct life insurance policies.  Some key things to note:

• The terms and conditions of your policy will not be affected by the transfer.
• Unless we inform you otherwise, payments for your policy will automatically transfer to the new insurer.

If confirmed by the Court and regulatory approvals are obtained, the Scheme is expected to take effect from 1 December 2025, unless the Court specifies a different date.

We will update this site as the Scheme proceeds through the Court process.

A list of products included in the transfer is set out in the Scheme document located under the Scheme documents link at the top of this page. These documents provide information about how the transfer may affect your rights as a policy owner and where you can find more information. 

This webpage was prepared to help ensure you have access to important information about the Scheme.

We are pleased to advise that the transfer of Swiss Re Life's direct life insurance business to Hannover Re under Part 9 of the Life Insurance Act 1995 (Cth) was completed at 12.01am on 1 December 2025 (AEDT).

If you are an affected policy owner, the information on this website remains relevant to your policy and the effect of the transfer on you.

If you have any questions about your life insurance policy, please contact your insurance administrator on the contact details listed in the Scheme Summary.

Updated: 01/12/2025

We are pleased to advise that the Federal Court of Australia has confirmed the transfer of Swiss Re's direct life insurance business to Hannover Re under Part 9 of the Life Insurance Act 1995 (Cth).  The transfer will be completed at 12:01am (AEDT) on 1 December 2025.

If you are an affected policyowner, the information on this website remains relevant to your policy and the effect of the transfer on you.

If you have any questions about your life insurance policy, please contact your insurance administrator on the contact details listed in the Scheme Summary. 

Updated: 15/11/2025

We are pleased to confirm that the Confirmation Hearing is scheduled for 9:15am (AEDT) on 14 November 2025 at the Law Courts Building, Queens Square, Sydney, New South Wales.  

If you are an affected policy owner and have concerns, or want to object to the Scheme, you can attend the Confirmation Hearing and request to be heard by the Court. To arrange this, you will need to contact the lawyers of either Swiss Re of Hannover Re before 24 October. You can find their contact details in the Scheme Summary.

Updated: 10/09/2025

This document, approved by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, outlines the key details of the Scheme. It provides important information including an overview of the Scheme, how the Scheme will affect policy owners, the rights of affected policy owners, how you can request to be heard in Court and the expected date that the Court will consider the application for confirmation of the Scheme.

This is the legal document that sets out the terms of the transfer and is subject to Court approval.  It describes what happens as a result of Swiss Re transferring, and Hannover Re agreeing to accept and assume, Swiss Re's rights and liabilities associated with the transferring policies. The Scheme must be confirmed by the Court and regulatory approvals must be obtained for Swiss Re and Hannover Re to proceed with the transfer.

This document, approved by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, is the formal notice to affected policy owners about the Scheme.

These are actuarial reports assessing the impact of the Scheme on the interests of affected policy owners.  An actuarial report has been prepared by each of Swiss Re's Appointed Actuary, Hannover Re's Appointed Actuary and an independent actuary.