Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) completed transactions with total premiums of £1.5bn to mark a “strong” start to the year, its Q1 2024 trading update has revealed.

The trading update revealed PIC completed five new business transactions during the first three months of 2024, including the £870m full buy-in with the De Beers scheme and a £510m buy-in with the Next Group scheme.

The firm also reported a further £1.4bn in exclusivity, a solvency capital ratio of 212 per cent and a new business pipeline of more than £50bn.

According to the update, PIC has £47.4bn in financial investments and said it had no defaults in its investment portfolio and no exposure to residential ground rents.

PIC chief executive, Tracy Blackwell, said: "PIC has had an excellent start to the year, both in terms of helping trustees secure the pension benefits of their members and as we continue to invest in the economy.

"At the same time, we were very pleased to be recognised again for the quality of our customer service, when we were re-awarded ServiceMark with Distinction.

"We were delighted to launch Mosaic, our streamlined buyout service for small schemes, helping to meet the growing demand in that sector of the market.

"It's clear that the pension risk transfer market is dynamic and innovative as it evolves to meet the needs of trustees of schemes of all sizes. In turn, this will help meet the investment needs of the country over the course of this decade."

This article originally appeared on our sister title, Insurance Asset Management.

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