International travel insurance and medical assistance company Allianz Global Assistance has purchased New Zealand travel insurance specialist, Comprehensive Travel Insurance 2004 (CTI), for an undisclosed sum.
Allianz Global Assistance Group chief zone executive officer Roland Rykart said the company acquired the CTI from its joint venture (JV) owners including Vero Insurance New Zealand and United Travel Holdings, in a bid to strengthen its operations in the country.
"It represents a strong strategic fit and will result in immediate incremental business growth," Rykart added.
"As CTI already has a well established portfolio of white label insurance products sold through a solid distribution partnership network, the acquisition will see our market share in the travel insurance sector double."
The insurance company said that the acquisition will also boost its profitability as business integration opportunities due to combined resources will be realized over time.
Following the completion of the transaction, the acquired entity will be re-branded as Allianz Australia Insurance Limited and until that CTI's current product offering will remain the same up to 1 June.
In 2011, Allianz Global Assistance forayed into New Zealand market and delivers travel insurance and emergency medical insurance to business clients.
The current announcement follows the opening of Allianz Global Assistance's New Zealand Operations Centre in Auckland in 2011 and the appointment of Phil Hibbert as executive manager New Zealand in 2012 to head the business expansion program.
According to the data of 2012, the insurer had nearly 144,000 staff in 70 nations, who achieved total revenues of €106.4bn and an operating profit of €9.5bn, while benefits to customers reached €89.2bn.