Humania Assurance announced on Aug. 13 the acquisition of Tour+Med. Humania says the deal will allow it to expand its presence in the travel insurance industry.

Tour+Med provides travel insurance products and has an administrative centre in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, and an assistance subsidiary in Florida, USA. The firm serves the needs of baby boomers and Canadian travellers who are declined coverage by other carriers due to age or pre-existing medical conditions.

"This acquisition promises a synergy increase," stated Stéphane Rochon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Humania Assurance. "Our expertise in digital development, combined with Tour+Med's expertise in travel insurance, will allow us to enhance our service offer considerably, for both individuals and groups. Since the launch of our cancer insurance 5575.ca, we wish to complement and increase our range of products offered to Canadian retirees, a market segment that surely needs it."

Tour+Med has collaborated with Humania for the past 10 years. "This is a natural and obvious transaction. Humania Assurance, our underwriter, has a long expertise in living benefits and they wanted to expand their activities, while we were looking for ways to accelerate our growth in Canada," stated Pierre St-Onge, who remains a shareholder of Tour+Med and will continue to be in charge of its travel insurance sales and operations.

"This transaction will help us combine our respective distribution networks. We also plan on developing new solutions for all of the actors of this industry, such as firms and actuaries involved in the group insurance business. Although we play an important role in the Snowbird travel insurance business, we operate on many other sectors and Humania Assurance's upcoming input will accelerate our diversification," added St-Onge.