Partnership Assurance has completed a £33m medically underwritten buy-in with the trustees of an undisclosed pension plan.

The trustees were advised by JLT Employee Benefits (JLT EB) and the deal covers the majority of the plan's liabilities in respect of its current pensioners.

The sponsor of the scheme operates within the building and civil engineering industry, and the nature of the members' occupation meant an underwritten approach was considered to be the most appropriate.

The trustees of the scheme wrote to all members prior to the deal, requesting them to complete a short medical questionnaire. This was then returned to Partnership to enable them to price the buy-in as competitively as possible.

Andrew Cheeseman, PAN Trustees, chairman of the trustees, said: "We are pleased to have completed this buy-in with Partnership Assurance and that the questionnaire was well received by members.

"This buy-in is an important step for the scheme as it enables us to continue our de-risking programme while providing long-term security for our members."

Partnership Assurance director of corporate partnerships Will Hale said: "This is the largest individually underwritten buy-in completed in the market to date.

"The transaction demonstrates Partnership's extensive in-house experience in this field and is another indication of this approach becoming part of the mainstream de-risking landscape.

"A buy-in priced using the health and lifestyle information of individual members ensures a more accurate view of the longevity of the scheme and therefore the Trustees have benefited from a more tailored price for insuring the risk."

First published 27.01.2014

monique_simpson@wilmington.co.uk