MMI licence changes approved

MMI Holdings Limited was created in December 2010 through the merger of Metropolitan and Momentum.

Duplicated licensed entities and systems (resulting from the merger) are currently being consolidated. The approval of the amalgamation of the licences on 20 May (in terms of Sections 37 and 38 of the Long-term Insurance Act) represents an important milestone towards the rationalisation of MMI Holdings' legal entities.

The court approval means that the current and future long-term insurance policies of Metropolitan and Momentum will all be underwritten by the same long-term insurance licensed entity. There will be no change to the terms and conditions‚ or the benefits of the policies. The amalgamated licence is held by MMI Group which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MMI Holdings.

Policyholders will continue to deal with Metropolitan and Momentum as the client-facing brands and all the current client contact details remain unchanged.

"Benefits from the amalgamation include easier transferability of capital within the MMI Holdings group‚ more optimal use of capital because of further risk diversification and more efficient and simplified governance structures and compliance arrangements‚" says Nicolaas Kruger chief executive of the company.

MMI announced in March that it was on track to achieve the R500m annual merger-savings target‚ having realised savings of R256m up to December 2012. The amalgamation of the two main long-term insurance licences will deliver further cost savings for the group. These cost savings and improved capital efficiency forms part of MMI's active approach towards the management of its capital.

"MMI's healthy capital buffer puts the group in a good position for the implementation of Solvency Assessment Management (SAM) that is on the horizon and also provides accessible capital to invest in growth opportunities‚" says Kruger.

"The approval of the amalgamation of the licences is another demonstration of the success of the merger. Operating divisions can now focus on their organic and strategic growth plans aimed at achieving our vision to become a leader in meeting the financial services needs of our clients‚" Kruger added.