CIGNA Corp. More Than Doubles Expatriate Insurance [The Hartford Courant, Conn.]

Sept. 01--CIGNA Corp. more than doubled its membership of expatriate workers by acquiring a Belgian company Tuesday.

Philadelphia-headquartered CIGNA, which has major operations in Bloomfield, acquired privately owned Vanbreda International of Antwerp, Belgium. Combined, the two companies provide medical insurance and employee benefits to about 700,000 people working in countries other than where they are citizens.

The move makes CIGNA the largest U.S.-based health insurer of expatriate workers in a strategic move consistent with the company's effort to expand its global presence. Competitors include Hartford-based Aetna, which insures about 400,000, and Bupa International of the United Kingdom, which is the world's largest insurer of expatriates.

CIGNA International President William Atwell said CIGNA has about 330,000 members, primarily U.S. expatriate workers employed by large corporations. Vanbreda has about 370,000 members. Vanbreda specializes in providing health insurance to inter-governmental organizations, and other group-insurance clients, and has about half of its membership in Europe.

The business of providing health insurance to expatriate workers is growing -- primarily sold as group plans to businesses or organizations, or as individual plans sold to people living or working abroad, such as consultants.

"It's directly related to just the economic growth that's occurring outside the U.S.," Atwell said.

The purchase price and other financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Vanbreda will continue to operate as its own brand and as an independent business with about 400 employees. CIGNA doesn't plan to change the number of employees in the U.S. or abroad as a result of the acquisition, said company spokeswoman Gloria Barone.

UBS Investment bank was the sole financial adviser to CIGNA for the transaction.

To see more of The Hartford Courant, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.courant.com/.

Copyright (c) 2010, The Hartford Courant, Conn.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544)