The Medical Protection Society, a UK-based member-owned not-for-profit protection organisation for doctors, dentists and healthcare professionals, has completed a £125m (€148m) buy-in deal with Rothesay.

The buy-in secures the benefits of all 618 scheme members comprising 174 pensioners and dependants, and 444 deferred members. This was the scheme’s first transaction and no contribution from the company was needed with the scheme being in surplus.

Gowling WLG provided legal advice to the trustee, while Rothesay received legal advice from Eversheds Sutherland. Isio acted as the lead broker on the deal.

Colin Richardson, sole trustee at Zedra Governance Limited, said that given the level of competition in the market, this transaction is evidence of the importance of effective scheme preparation.

He said: “Following the diligent advice and guidance of Isio and Gowling, we gained the interest of five insurers, ultimately electing to partner with Rothesay on account of their high-quality offering and good value.

“The transaction secures the future pension payments and benefits for all scheme members representing a very positive result in a short time frame.”

Richard Pile, chief financial officer at The Medical Protection Society, added: “Given improved funding levels and the hard work we put in to preparing the scheme for its end-game, we were able to work quickly with all parties to achieve a great outcome in a busy market.”

Katie Overton, business development at Rothesay, said that in a very buoyant market, this was a well-prepared scheme which supported the quick and efficient execution of this de-risking transaction.

She continued: “Following a busy first quarter this year, Rothesay continues to see very strong momentum in the pension risk transfer market with an unprecedented pipeline of new business.

“Our substantial capital resources and proven execution capabilities mean we are very well-placed to capitalise on the significant opportunities we are seeing.”

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Pamela is IPE's UK correspondent. Before joining IPE in May 2023, she spent five years writing about the insurance industry. During her career so far she won awards for Most Promising Newcomer in 2020 and Best Investigative Article in 2022 from the British Insurance Brokers Association, and was also highly commended at the WTW Media Awards for Insurance Features Journalist of The Year.View full Profile

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