FirstAssist PMI business in final stages of acquisition

FirstAssist has said the proposed acquisition of its private medical insurance (PMI) business by Standard Life Healthcare is now well under way.

The company said the first court date for the formal portfolio transfer has now passed and customer consultation is under way.

Standard Life Healthcare is expected to take full responsibility for underwriting the PMI business it acquires from FirstAssist from 1 April 2006.

FirstAssist said it is also providing its complementary range of Health and Wellbeing services to Standard Life Healthcare to support its customer offering, whilst marketing Standard Life Healthcare's PMI products as part of its own broad-based health insurance and services portfolio.

Tim Ablett, chief executive of FirstAssist, said: “This next phase marks the final stages of the Standard Life Healthcare acquisition of FirstAssist's PMI business.

"2006 will be a year of focus for FirstAssist, developing and investing in our Total Managed Care proposition and Speciality Insurance business. Indeed, we aim to accelerate the development of the Health and Wellbeing propositions, which remain at the heart of our business.”