SSQ Life Insurance Company Inc. concludes the acquisition of AXA Life Insurance Inc.

SSQ, Life Insurance Company Inc. concluded the acquisition of AXA Life Insurance Inc.: the new entity will be called SSQ Insurance Company Inc.

SSQ Insurance Company Inc. (AXA Life Insurance Inc.) will continue to offer a full range of individual insurance products and specialized group insurance products from its offices in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and Dartmouth. It will also maintain its distribution agreements with its two subsidiaries, SFAA and SA(C)curiGroupe.

"This transaction reflects our strategic priorities to accelerate our growth and diversify our activities through acquisitions. We are proud of this acquisition which fulfils our objectives. The range of services offered by SSQ Insurance Company Inc. (AXA Life Insurance Inc.) fits in perfectly with our existing product offer and will strengthen our position as a major player in Canadian insurance and financial products" said Mr. RenA(C) Hamel, Chief Executive Officer of SSQ Financial Group.

This acquisition will allow SSQ Financial Group to strengthen its position on the individual insurance market, increase its presence throughout Canada, enlarge its distribution network for its range of segregated fund products (ASTRA Funds) and welcome a new portfolio of group insurance products that complement its own.

Job Appointment

Mr. RenA(C) Hamel is happy to announce the appointment of Mr. Bernard Tanguay to the position of Senior Vice-President of SSQ Insurance Company Inc. (AXA Life Insurance Inc.)

Mr. Tanguay holds a bachelor's degree in actuarial sciences from UniversitA(C) Laval and is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries. He joined the ranks of SSQ Financial Group over fifteen years ago and has held various management functions during his time with the company. Before being hired by SSQ Financial Group, he worked for another important financial group for over ten years.

In addition to his new functions, Mr. Tanguay will continue to supervise all the activities of SSQ Financial Group's Investment and Retirement sector, which has achieved exceptional growth year after year thanks to an approach based on outstanding service and quality products.

Looking to the future

"Together, both companies will be able to offer values, skills and strategies that complement each other. Both put a strong emphasis on customer service, and by taking advantage of the combined expertise of two leaders in the industry, we will be even more capable of meeting our clients' needs" said Mr. Tanguay.

"Given that the current products of SSQ Financial Group and SSQ Insurance Company Inc. (AXA Life Insurance Inc.) complement each other, life and health insurance firms that currently do business with both organizations will have a wonderful opportunity to strengthen their business relations with us. For example, individual insurance products offered by SSQ Insurance Company Inc. (AXA Life Insurance Inc.) will be offered to brokers of SSQ Investment and Retirement while SSQ's segregated fund products will be offered to brokers of SSQ Insurance Company Inc. (AXA Life Insurance Inc.). This expansion of SSQ Financial Group's product offer will also be good for recruiting more brokers and accelerating our sales growth", he said in conclusion.