The Insurance Journal Publishing Group announced that it has just acquired the Congrès Collectif Segic – a group insurance conference held annually in Montreal.

Launched in 2015 by Danny Boulanger, CEO of Segic, the conference is a niche event that promotes group health insurance, as well as self-managed group plans. The conference supports Segic’s awareness-raising efforts in this regard. The company markets a technological platform that brings together numerous services intended to manage a group health insurance program. This platform allows for self-management of group plans and cost savings for businesses and unions – its two target markets.

With the goal of completely focusing on his business Segic – a rapidly growing company – Boulanger says he decided to sell the conference to the Insurance Journal Publishing Group because he was confident in the organization’s ability to ensure the sustainability of the event.

Serge Therrien, president and publisher of The Insurance Journal Publishing Group, says he acquired the conference because he is aware that group and health insurance is a quickly expanding sector of the industry.

“I assessed the issues and decided to go ahead because group and health insurance is a rapidly growing industry sector which requires information on plan management. With our expertise in terms of content creation, event management, as well as our marketing and promotional abilities, I believe that we can raise the profile of the Group Conference, which is Quebec’s only forum for strategic discussion and networking in this sector. By putting our resources behind this conference, we aim to help the industry accelerate its growth," said Therrien.

As the owner of three other insurance conventions in Canada, The Insurance Journal Publishing Group will maintain the Group Conference – which will be its new name – separate from the Life Insurance Convention, an industry conference held annually in Montreal in November. The company also holds P&C Day, a conference for the property and casualty insurance industry held in Montreal each March, as well as the Canada Sales Congress held each May in Toronto.

"This transaction fits perfectly with our corporate mission, which is to provide our clients with strategic information to help them grow their businesses," said Therrien.

Over the years, the Group Conference has attracted participants such as unions, consulting actuaries, group benefits advisors and insurers. Given its specialized content, the Conference also attracts group plan managers, in particular SME leaders who are interested in acquiring new talent by offering good group and health insurance benefits.

Therrien said he intends to continue to serve this clientele. He also hopes to increase conference participation through the support of his company's resources, such as its ability to reach tens of thousands of readers on a monthly basis through its Insurance Portals and via social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter or even Google.

The next Group Conference will take place on Oct. 22, 2020 at the Centre Mont-Royal, in the heart of downtown Montreal.