Canada Life Completes Payout Annuity Acquisition.

Business Editors

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 1, 2000

The Canada Life Assurance Company (TSE:CL.) has completed its acquisition of the Canadian payout annuity business of Confederation Life Insurance Company (in Liquidation). The transaction, which Canada Life had entered with KPMG Inc., the Liquidator of Confederation Life, closed on August 1, 2000 following court and regulatory approvals.

As a result of the acquisition, Canada Life received assets currently valued at approximately $725 million, up from March 2000 estimations of $630 million, to support future annuity payments. Annuity holders will receive confirmation from Canada Life that it is now responsible for making future payments. The new acquisition increases the size of this business by 20 per cent, to $4.3 billion.

Canada Life now pays benefits on more than 130,000 annuities to Canadian consumers, an increase of over 40 per cent since its acquisition of Crown Life's Canadian operations in January 1999. This latest acquisition is part of Canada Life's ongoing strategy to increase its share of the Canadian wealth management products and services market.

The Canada Life Assurance Company is the oldest Canadian life insurance company and one of the largest, based on consolidated premium income and assets. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, the company has total assets under administration in excess of $55 billion and operates across Canada, the United States, Ireland and the United Kingdom, with recent acquisitions and joint ventures in numerous countries. Canada Life Financial, founded in 1999, is the holding company for The Canada Life Assurance Company and is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "CL."