LONDON: HCL IBS Ltd. part of HCL Technologies Ltd., a provider in IT services provider,today announced that it has been awarded a major service contract by Equitable Life Assurance Society (Equitable Life).

The contract, which starts in March 2011, would deliver substantial cost benefits to Equitable Life’s policyholders through the transfer of core processing and support activities required to run its closed book of business, said a press release.

The decision comes after a rigorous and extensive selection process by Equitable Life, which examined tenders from a number of leading companies. The deal is said to be worth $200 million.

HCL will be providing an end to end solution including policy administration, finance, actuarial services, IT operational support and call center services

Chris Wiscarson, chief executive of Equitable Life said, “This is one of the most important decisions in the Society’s history. HCL has an impressive reputation and I am confident that they will provide great service and great value to policyholders. I want to help restore policyholders’ savings and this is an important step in that direction.”

Stuart Drew, senior vice president at HCL Technologies, said: “This is a major win for HCL IBS since the acquisition of Liberata Financial Services in 2008 and reflects our position as a leader in transforming our clients’ Life and Pensions operations. However, this deal is more than just Life and Pensions policy administration. Our expertise enables us to provide a ‘virtual life office’ approach to Equitable Life, which is a true differentiator for HCL.”

He added that they look forward to welcoming the Lloyds Banking Group staff who work on the Equitable Life account to HCL as well as a small number of Equitable Life’s own staff.