Proposed transfer of Swiss Re’s Australian direct life insurance portfolio to Hannover Re.

Woolworths Group Limited, ABN 88 000 014 675 (Woolworths), through its Woolworths Insurance business, promoted Woolworths Life and Funeral Insurance until 30 June 2023 as an Authorised Representative of Greenstone Financial Services Pty Ltd, ABN 53 128 692 884 (AFSL 343079) (GFS). Woolworths no longer promotes Life and Funeral Insurance. 

Safeway Life is the new brand name under which Woolworths Life and Funeral Insurance will be administered. Once the rebranding occurs on 1 December 2025, future communications in respect of your Policy will be issued under the name of ‘Safeway Life’ instead of ‘Woolworths Life and Funeral Insurance’.  

After the Transfer, you can contact Safeway Life on the below details.

Phone: 1300 954 290, Monday to Friday, between 8:00am and 8:00pm AEST (except for public holidays).

Email: service@life.safeway.com.au

Post: 
Policyowner Services
Safeway Life
Reply Paid 6728
Baulkham Hills NSW 2153  

After the Transfer, all letters and emails that we send to you will be branded as Safeway Life.  

Swiss Re Life & Health Australia Limited, ABN 74 000 218 306 (Swiss Re) is the issuer of your Woolworths Life or Funeral Policy. 

Hannover Life Re of Australasia Ltd, ABN 37 062 395 484, AFSL 530811 (Hannover Re) belongs to the Hannover Re Group and has been a trusted partner in the Australasian market for more than 30 years, offering a broad range of insurance and reinsurance solutions. The Hannover Re Group holds a credit rating of AA- ("very strong") from Standard & Poor's, indicating a robust financial position and the ability to meet financial obligations. 

Committed to assisting customers when they need it most, Hannover Re's claims philosophy focuses on providing a smooth claims journey by assessing each claim on its own merit with integrity, compassion, and fairness. More information is available at Hannover Re's website, www.hannover-re.com/australia/claims.

Woolworths Life and Funeral Insurance Policies will be transferred from Swiss Re to Hannover Re on the transfer date approved by the Federal Court of Australia, which is proposed to be 01 December 2025 (Transfer). The Transfer is subject to confirmation by the Federal Court of Australia.  

It is standard practice that transfers of this kind go through a Federal Court of Australia approval process, which must consider the interests of Policyowners.

In April 2025, Swiss Re entered into an agreement with Hannover Re to acquire Swiss Re's direct life insurance business. This includes the transfer of your Policy. The Transfer will be implemented through a process known as a Scheme under Part 9 of the Life Insurance Act 1995 (Cth) and is subject to confirmation by the Federal Court of Australia at a hearing scheduled for 9:15am on 14 November 2025 at the Law Courts Building, Queens Square, Sydney, New South Wales. If confirmation is granted by the Court, and once the Scheme is implemented, your Policy and any related claims will automatically transfer to Hannover Re on the transfer date approved by the Federal Court of Australia, which is proposed to be at 12:01am on 1 December 2025.

At the same time as the Transfer, Woolworths Life and Funeral Insurance will be rebranded to Safeway Life.

Swiss Re made the decision to stop selling direct life insurance in Australia and withdraw from the direct life insurance market globally.

At the same time, Woolworths made the decision to rebrand its Life and Funeral insurance products to Safeway Life.

Throughout the Transfer process, and following, your Policy stays active, subject to its terms and conditions, including payment of premiums. The Transfer will not change:

The terms of your Policy;

Any applicable discounts you receive as a result of being a Woolworths Life and Funeral Policyowner from the insurer or an Everyday Rewards member from Woolworths.

How you pay for your Policy; and

Your rights and obligations.

The name of your product will change to Safeway Life Insurance.  

The Transfer and rebrand will not change any applicable premium discounts that you currently receive from the insurer for your Policy. 

The Transfer and rebrand will not change any applicable discounts that you currently receive from Woolworths for when you shop at Woolworths. 

After the Transfer is complete, you can contact Safeway Life to notify any new, or enquire about any previously notified claims.

Phone: 1300 954 290, Monday to Friday, between 8:00am and 8:00pm AEST. 

Life and Funeral insurance claims will continue to be processed and assessed on the same terms and conditions and in alignment with the Life Insurance Code of Practice. 

If the Scheme is confirmed by the Court, your Policy, and any payments that you make for your Policy, will be automatically transferred to the new insurer. You do not need to contact us or your bank or card issuer to facilitate the transfer.

The effective date of the Scheme will be confirmed by the Court but is provisionally scheduled for 12:01am on 1 December 2025. Once the date is confirmed we will update this website with the information.

If the Court confirms the Scheme, or if there are any changes to the Transfer, we will update this website.

Up to the date of Transfer, please contact Woolworths Life Insurance on the below details if you have any questions in relation to the Transfer or if you require further information.

Phone: 1300 101 234, Monday to Friday, between 8:00am and 8:00pm AEST (except for public holidays) 

Email: service@life.woolworths.com.au

After the Transfer, you can contact Safeway Life on the below details.

Phone: 1300 954 290, Monday to Friday, between 8:00am and 8:00pm AEST (except for public holidays)

Email: service@life.safeway.com.au

Swiss Re currently holds your personal information as a Woolworths Life and Funeral Policyowner. As part of the Transfer, your personal information will be transferred to Hannover Re, who will use it for the same purposes that Swiss Re informed you about when you first obtained Your Policy. Hannover Re will hold, use and disclose your personal information as outlined in its privacy policy available at www.hannover-re.com/australia/privacy.

There is a review process which includes:

Actuaries for Swiss Re and Hannover Re, and an independent actuary, each reporting on the likely impact of the Scheme on affected Policyowners. You can review these documents on the 'Scheme documents' section of this website;

The ability for you and other Policyowners to attend and be heard at the Court hearing; and

Court confirmation of the Scheme, which it will only give if appropriate, after considering the impact of the Scheme on the interests of Policyowners.

Your premiums will not automatically increase and the terms of your policy will not change because of the Transfer to Hannover Re.

Hannover Re can only increase your premium in those circumstances set out in your Product Disclosure Statement and they will notify you beforehand. 

The premium that applies to your Policy at the time of the Transfer will be the same as what was set out in the most recent policy schedule you received from us.

You can continue to request changes to your Policy by contacting us on 1300 101 234, Monday to Friday, between 8:00am and 8:00pm AEST (except for public holidays).

Requests for changes to your Policy that are submitted up to 28 November 2025 will be reviewed by Swiss Re. If the Court confirms the Scheme, requests for changes to your Policy submitted after close of business on 28 November 2025 will be reviewed by Hannover Re after the Transfer Date. Any requests for changes received by Swiss Re that are not decided before the Transfer Date will be passed to Hannover Re for decision after the Transfer Date.

Under the Life Insurance Act 1995 (Cth), Swiss Re is required to provide affected Policyowners with certain information about the proposed Scheme. Once all documentation has been provided or otherwise made available to affected Policyowners, Swiss Re and Hannover Re will apply to the Court to seek confirmation of the Scheme.

The application for confirmation of the Scheme is scheduled to be heard by the Court on 14 November 2025. Should the Court confirm the Scheme, it will determine the exact time and date of the transfer. Swiss Re and Hannover Re have proposed an effective date of 01 December 2025 (Transfer Date).

The Scheme will not proceed unless it is confirmed by the Court. If the Scheme is not confirmed, then your Policy will not transfer to Hannover Re. 

If the proposed Scheme is confirmed by the Court, your Policy will automatically transfer to Hannover Re. The Scheme does not involve a process to opt out of it.

You can provide feedback, or request a copy of the Scheme Document, during the consultation period by contacting us on the details below:

Phone: 1300 101 234, Monday to Friday, between 8:00am and 8:00pm AEST (except for public holidays)

Email: service@life.woolworths.com.au

All feedback will be captured, and a summary will be provided to the Federal Court as part of its consideration of the Scheme.

The consultation period will begin on the date the Notice of Intention is published and will continue until shortly before the confirmation hearing, scheduled to be held at the New South Wales Registry of the Federal Court, located at Law Courts Building, Queens Square, Sydney on 14 November 2025 at 9.15am. (AEDT).