Cigna spends $110M to launch into travel insurance

Adding a new product line and expanding its international business, Cigna has agreed to buy travel insurance provider FirstAssist Insurance Services.

FirstAssist has almost 3 million customers in Britain and provides them with protection against unexpected events through travel, health, employment, and legal-related insurance. Cigna plans to spend about $110 million to acquire FirstAssist, reports Reuters.

The deal would combine FirstAssist's products, services, and distribution partners with Cigna's direct marketing operations, global medical network, and various supplemental products, according to a Cigna press release.

Cigna said it plans to expand FirstAssist's offering of travel products into Asia and other regions where it already sells individual policies, reports Reuters. "We're going to use that expertise to do product development in our other countries around the globe," said Cigna International President William Atwell. "They bring that expertise of the travel insurance segment, which we don't have."

To learn more:
- here's Cigna's press release
- read the Reuters article

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