Churchill Insurance has acquired travel insurance adminstrator Inter Group Insurance Services (IGIS), for an undisclosed sum.
IGIS has two main business areas – third-party adminstration of travel insurance business on behalf of a range of blue-chip partners and own-branded specialist travel insurance, mostly transacted over the net.
Martin Long, Churchill's chairman and chief executive, said: “The purchase of IGIS supports our planned expansion in the travel insurance market and is in line with our strategy for achieving profitable growth through acquisitions and multi-channel distribution.”
Hampshire-based IGIS, set up in 1992 is a fast-growing company with annual commission fee income of more than £7.5m and will continue to operate as an independent business.
The company has been majority-owned by managing director Andrew Blowers since 1997. Blowers will retain his current position and he has confirmed that there will be no redundancies.
Blowers said: “We have had an extremely strong relationship with Churchill for several years.
“We are excited about the significant opportunities for growth which we expect to arise from our combined strengths.”
The two companies have a long-established relationship – IGIS has been administering policies and dealing with claims on Churchill's behalf since 1987.
IGIS currently employs 250 people in Hampshire and Ireland and plans to employ another 50 by the end of the year.
