TORONTO, March 17, 2003 – Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada (Royal & SunAlliance) today announced an agreement that will make it one of the largest travel insurance underwriters in Canada.
Under the agreement with Expert Travel Financial Security (E.T.F.S.) Inc., Royal & SunAlliance becomes the leading provider of travel insurance products for the ETFS portfolio. ETFS and its affiliates (the ETFS Financial Group) will provide policy and claims administration as well as assistance services for the portfolio. Agilon Financial Inc., an affiliate of Royal & SunAlliance dedicated to group, affinity and personal specialty market segments, will manage the program.
“This deal illustrates our commitment to growing personal specialty lines in Canada,” says Rowan Saunders, Vice President of Personal Financial Services for Royal & SunAlliance. “We want to balance our business mix and focus on strategic niche opportunities. That’s why we’ve chosen to align ourselves with the ETFS Financial Group, a leading provider of global travel insurance program management.”
The existing ETFS travel portfolio totals more than $50m CAD in premium.
This includes numerous travel insurance products such as Out of Province Medical (Annual & Short Term), Baggage, Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption and AD&D.
“Because we provide superior products and services to meet a large variety of unique travel insurance needs, we chose our new provider very carefully,” said Reg Allatt, CEO of ETFS. “Royal & SunAlliance has access to extensive global expertise in the travel insurance market and we’re confident that we’ve made the right choice.”
ETFS programs are sold through various channels including travel agents who sell Globetrek Travel Insurance directly to leisure travellers, brokers who sell Medi-Select Advantage directly to travelling Canadians and snowbirds and through affinity business partners such as automobile associations who offer their own branded product directly to members.
About ETFS
The ETFS Financial Group specializes in added-value niche health and travel insurance program management, in Canada and around the world. ETFS is recognized for its product quality and cost savings, and in 1999 was ISO 9002 certified. Based in Lennoxville, Quebec, and with offices in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Orlando and San Francisco, the Group has been in business since 1984. In 1996, ETFS introduced Global Excel Management Inc. (G.E.M.) to equip and complement the company with the opportunity to supply medical case management, cost containment, and claims services in the United States, Canada, Caribbean, and Mexico. They are one of the leading cost containment & assistance companies partnering with large insurers, third party administrators, assistance companies, and claims handlers for America.
About Royal & SunAlliance
Royal & SunAlliance Canada employs over 2,700 people and is represented by a large network of independent brokers nationwide. In 2002, the Company wrote $1.6b in direct premiums written with assets exceeding $4.0b. Internationally, Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group plc employs over 40,000 people and transacts business in more than 130 countries with assets of $152.3b CAD.
