Tower Insurance has offloaded its Solomon Islands business to Papua New Guinea’s TransPacific Assurance Limited. 

The price for the conditional sale is $SBD17m ($2.96m) subject to changes for GWP, exchange rates and capital requirements between now and the completion date this year. 

Tower launched its Solomon Islands operation in 1985 and it is the smallest Pacific interest. 

CEO Blair Turnbull says Tower is tightening its risk appetite and is focused on delivering its digital and data offering in the Pacific. 

“In delivering our strategy, we concluded that this sale to TransPacific would enable us to better streamline our operations and complete our Pacific digital transformation. The sale provides good value for Solomon Islands staff, customers, and Tower shareholders,” he says. 

“Tower is continuing to invest in its Pacific business with the roll out of its My Tower online sales and service platform and the rebrand of its Tonga, American Samoa and Samoa businesses to Tower following its acquisition of minority interests in National Pacific Insurance in 2021.” 

He says Tower’s Suva operations hub now has 200 staff serving the Pacific and New Zealand. 

In the fiscal year to September 30, 2022, Tower’s Solomon Islands business generated GWP of $NZ2.9m ($2.7m) and net profit after tax of $NZ0.1m ($0.093). 

As of September 30, it had net assets of $NZ2.6m ($2.42) 

TransPacific is a privately owned general insurer operating in PNG and sees the acquisition as a good fit. 

It will offer jobs to Tower’s four staff. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.