Written by · Reviewed by Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver — licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931) · Last updated 2026-10-20

Who owns Partners Life?

Partners Life Limited is owned by Daiichi Life Group, Inc., a Tokyo-listed Japanese life insurance group. The group bought Partners Life's parent company, Partners Group Holdings Limited, in a deal announced on 12 August 2022 and completed in November 2022. Partners Life is still a New Zealand licensed insurer, and its holding company is based in Auckland.

In short

Who owns Partners Life today?

Several layers sit between the policy and the owner. The insurer that issues the policy is Partners Life Limited. Its parent is Partners Group Holdings Limited, which the Daiichi notice calls "PNZ" and describes as "headquartered in Auckland", at Level 3, 1-7 The Strand, Takapuna. Partners Group Holdings was established on 23 August 2010 and has one shareholder, Daiichi Life International Holdings LLC. That company is 100% held by Daiichi Life Group and its fully owned subsidiary, Daiichi Life International Co., Ltd. (Daiichi Life Group notice, 3 September 2026).

Layer Company What the sources say
Ultimate parent Daiichi Life Group, Inc. Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime section (code 8750). Partners Life's own page describes a group with roots back to 1902 and operations in Japan, Australia, the United States, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Cambodia, Myanmar and New Zealand (Partners Life)
Intermediate holding company Daiichi Life International Holdings LLC The sole shareholder of Partners Group Holdings, per the group's notice
New Zealand holding company Partners Group Holdings Limited Established 23 August 2010. The notice says "PNZ's business is managed by the Company" and that two of the group's executive officers serve as directors
Insurer Partners Life Limited Licensed by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand from 3 September 2013 (RBNZ register of licensed insurers, read 18 August 2026)

The spelling varies by source: Partners Life writes "Dai-ichi", and the group's own notice writes "Daiichi". They are the same group.

Timeline: from start-up to Japanese-owned subsidiary

Date Event Source
23 August 2010 Partners Group Holdings Limited is established Daiichi notice
2011 Partners Life opens its doors as a New Zealand start-up Partners Life: Who we are
3 September 2013 Partners Life Limited's RBNZ insurer licence takes effect RBNZ register, read 18 August 2026
2 June 2022 A.M. Best rating A- (Excellent) takes effect, as Partners Life stated in its 2022 announcement Partners Life, 12 August 2022
12 August 2022 Daiichi Life announces the acquisition of 100% of Partners Group Holdings, valuing Partners Life at circa NZ$1 billion and subject to regulatory approvals Same announcement
November 2022 Daiichi Life Group acquires Partners Group Holdings as a wholly owned subsidiary Daiichi notice
5 February 2026 Rating is now A (Excellent) with a Stable Outlook, effective that date Partners Life: Solvency and financial strength
3 September 2026 Partners Group Holdings signs to buy Fidelity Life for NZ$630 million Daiichi notice
March to July 2027 Targeted closing of the Fidelity Life purchase, subject to conditions and approvals Same notice

Two details are worth reading closely. First, the announcement date (12 August 2022) and the completion date (November 2022) are different, and the sources give only the month for completion. Second, the rating moved from A- to A (Excellent) over the period; A.M. Best's February 2026 action said the rating reflected ownership by and integration with Daiichi (A.M. Best, 5 February 2026, read 18 August 2026). The ownership page does not decide whether that is good news for any one buyer; for the grade itself, see our guide to Partners Life's financial strength rating.

What the Fidelity Life deal does and does not change

On 3 September 2026 the group announced that Partners Group Holdings had signed a share purchase agreement to acquire all the shares of Fidelity Life Assurance Company Limited, for NZ$630 million. The notice lists Fidelity Life's shareholders as the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation (49.62%), Ngāi Tahu Investments Limited (24.93%), the Fidelity Family Account (14.64%) and others (10.81%). Closing is targeted between March and July 2027 and depends on approvals (Daiichi notice).

This is a purchase by Partners' holding company. Partners Life's own ownership does not change. If you hold a Fidelity Life policy, the insurer named on your schedule stays the same until the companies say otherwise; no source we read announces brand or product plans for after closing. Our news desk has the detail in Partners Group buys Fidelity Life, and the two insurers are set side by side in Fidelity Life vs Partners Life.

Corporate structure and regulation in New Zealand

A foreign parent does not move the insurer out of New Zealand's regulatory system. Partners Life Limited is a licensed insurer, and Partners Life says on its own site that the Reserve Bank's Solvency Standard requires it, as a licensed insurer, to disclose its Adjusted Solvency Margin from its most recent solvency return. The page publishes the position at 30 June 2026 as a graphic, so we do not quote the numbers; check the Partners Life solvency page for them.

The financial strength grade is separate from the solvency disclosure. Partners Life states that, effective 5 February 2026, it has a financial strength rating of A (Excellent) with a Stable Outlook from A.M. Best, "an RBNZ-approved rating agency". A.M. Best describes a financial strength rating as an opinion of an insurer's ability to meet its ongoing policy obligations, and says it is not a recommendation to buy, hold or terminate any policy (A.M. Best: Guide to Best's Financial Strength Ratings, retrieved 20 October 2026).

Day-to-day management is also described in the notice: Michael Weston is named as Chief Executive Officer of Partners Group Holdings. In 2022 the announcement named a different Managing Director and said Daiichi was "fully committed to Partners Life remaining a stand-alone New Zealand business". Both statements are the companies' own, and leadership can change without any change of owner.

What a change of ownership means for existing policyholders

The shareholder changed in 2022. The company that wrote your policy did not. Four practical points follow from the sources.

  1. Your contract is with Partners Life Limited. The announcement was about the shares in the parent company, not a transfer of policies to a new insurer.
  2. The wording governs. Partners Life's announcement told customers it would be "business as usual", but a statement like that is not a policy term. Your schedule and policy wording set your cover, and your adviser can supply them. Partners Life publishes no public wordings library on the pages we read.
  3. Terms can change under the policy's own rules, with or without a sale. Whether premiums or benefits can change is decided by the wording, so read that clause rather than assuming a new owner means a change, or that it cannot.
  4. Complaints still go to the same place. Partners Life's complaints page names the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman (IFSO) as its external scheme (Partners Life: Complaints process, read 8 September 2026).

Nothing we read says that Daiichi's ownership altered existing policy terms, and nothing we read says it did not. We have no source on a policy-by-policy basis, so we say neither.

How Partners Life is sold: independent advisers

The 2026 notice describes Partners Life as selling mainly through the independent adviser channel, the 2022 announcement spoke of "advocating for the value of independent advice", and Partners Life's site leads with a "Find an adviser" link rather than a public quote-and-buy page. If you want to apply, you will usually go through a licensed adviser. We explain what that process involves, and what we can and cannot say about price, in how to get a Partners Life quote. Our full review of the insurer is Partners Life review, and the insurer's profile page is Partners Life.

QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner. Advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931), and it may receive a commission if you buy through our link. See how we are paid and our disclosure page.

Ownership is not the same as strength, or as fit

Who owns an insurer is one fact among several. Other insurers have very different owners. Momentum Life Limited, for example, is owned by DCG Invest Limited, described by A.M. Best as a New Zealand domiciled investment holding company; A.M. Best says the purchase closed in July 2025. Momentum's A.M. Best rating is B (Fair), and its own financial strength page shows a solvency ratio of 107% at 30 June 2026. A parent's size does not decide a policy's terms either: a guaranteed-acceptance policy such as Momentum's Quick Life takes no health questions but excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide for the first 2 years, and a fully underwritten adviser policy asks for your health history and prices it. Those are product choices, not ownership choices. Our guaranteed acceptance versus full medical page sets them out.

Frequently asked questions

Is Partners Life a New Zealand company?

Partners Life Limited is a New Zealand licensed insurer, and its holding company is headquartered in Auckland. Its ultimate owner is Japanese: Daiichi Life Group, Inc. acquired it in November 2022.

When did Dai-ichi buy Partners Life?

The acquisition was announced on 12 August 2022 and the group's 2026 notice says it acquired the company as a wholly owned subsidiary in November 2022. The announcement valued Partners Life at circa NZ$1 billion.

Who owned Partners Life before Daiichi?

Partners Life said in 2022 that its majority shareholder was Blackstone, alongside other supportive shareholders. We found no more detailed shareholder list.

Does Partners Life sell funeral insurance?

Not now. Partners Life stopped selling Funeral Cover on 15 June 2020, citing "a very low level of demand" (Good Returns, 15 June 2020). Funeral products that are open to new buyers are compared on our funeral insurance hub. Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance accepts New Zealanders aged 40 to 75 with no health questions, but it pays only for accidental death in the first 24 months, and the total premiums paid can exceed the benefit.

Does Daiichi owning Partners Life mean my policy is safer?

No source we read says so. The rating (A, Excellent, from A.M. Best, effective 5 February 2026) and the solvency disclosure are the published measures, and a rating is an opinion, not a promise of payment.

References

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