APRIL Group Health & Personal Protection division reported a 2.4% increase in sales based on reported data, broken down into a 1.7% decrease in brokerage commissions and a 9.3% rise in premiums.

The increase in insurance premiums was driven by the development of individual (seniors and self-employed), group and expatriate Health & Personal Protection portfolios. It also reflects new partnerships in group health insurance portfolios linked to the French National Interbranch Agreement (ANI) and an adjustment to the reinsurance structure.

The decrease in brokerage commissions mainly resulted from the contraction of our individual employee health insurance portfolios in light of the new regulation on compulsory group private health insurance, which became effective on 1 January 2016. This decrease was partly offset by the excellent performance of loan insurance. Individual health insurance for seniors and the self-employed continued to perform well. Group private health insurance sales began later than scheduled, but registered a sharp increase towards the end of the year.

The division posted a current EBIT margin down 2.4 percentage points to 15.3%, due to the decrease in individual health insurance revenues, the investments made in group health insurance (process scale-up, bespoke solutions meeting new regulations and the hiring of new staff in order to maintain quality of service) and intense competition in the health insurance sector throughout the year. The group does not anticipate any changes of these parameters in 2016.

The division posted an EBIT of €73.5m.

Overall Performance

APRIL achieved a satisfactory overall performance in a changing environment. The group consolidated its market positioning by keeping up an aggressive sales strategy: positive sales momentum were recorded in increasingly regulated and competitive markets, impacted in particular by the extension of group private health insurance in France.

“2015 was a year of true commitment and structuring for us. Defining our key growth levers around a strengthened management team has allowed us to make a clear assessment and set priorities for our actions and investments, which will have a major influence on the group in the coming years. Our capacity for innovation and the quality of our policy and claims handling, which are more than ever fully focused on serving our customers, should enable us to mitigate the expected decline in our current EBIT for 2016. We are confident in the strength of our group to renew with profit growth as the markets in which we operate gradually stabilise” commented APRIL Chairman and CEO Bruno Rousset.

APRIL Travel Protection is partnering with Tin Leg and will function as the travel insurance company's medical assistance provider, fulfilling 24-hour Emergency Assistance needs, including evacuation services.

Backed by the 27-year-old APRIL Group, APRIL Travel Protection has become an innovative force in the U.S. since its 2013 launch and is now partnering with Tin Leg, a market leader whose customer service-oriented approach to travel insurance parallels APRIL’s own policyholder-centric philosophy. APRIL will function as Tin Leg’s medical assistance provider, fulfilling 24-hour Emergency Assistance needs, including evacuation services.

“Immediate and hassle-free 24-hour Emergency Assistance is an extremely crucial component of any travel insurance policy, and we found APRIL’s best-in-class medical support to provide the ultimate solution,” said Megan Singh, Project Management Director at Tin Leg.

As of Dec. 1, Tin Leg began referring all applicable Emergency Assistance medical cases to a dedicated, multi-lingual support team at APRIL for immediate assistance.

“As two forward-thinking companies challenging the status quo in an industry where many of the larger players have lost consumer confidence, Tin Leg and APRIL make a complementary and compatible match,” said Jason Schreier, CEO of APRIL USA.

“Tin Leg is extremely receptive to American travelers’ perception of insurance and, like us, is actively working to build a nurturing relationship with policyholders. We’re eager to contribute to the success of a company that shares our vision,” Schreier added.

APRIL group continues to expand its third party administration activities (TPA) as part of its key accounts development with the acquisition of 100% of the capital of Avilog.

Thanks to this operation, the group is able to consolidate its position in the TPA market for group health and personal protection insurance. Its activities with institutional clients (banks, provident institutions, private health insurers and insurance companies), brokers and businesses, both in France and abroad, will therefore be able to draw upon tailored and differentiating solutions.

Established in 1987, Avilog specialises in handling group medical health insurance policies. Today it has almost 30 staff members based in La Valette du Var as well as Paris, and has a turnover of over 2 million euros.

Sébastien Boizou, Managing Director of AVILOG, stated, "We are looking forward joining a large-scale, dynamic and innovative group such as APRIL. This merger opens up new prospects for working together and for business development."

With the acquisition of 100% of the capital of GlobalHealth, the APRIL group consolidates its wholesale broker activities in international private medical insurance (IPMI).

The acquisition of GlobalHealth enables APRIL to extend its operations in Asia, beyond its current activities in Thailand, China and Singapore. It also strengthens its market share in International Private Medical Insurance and accelerates the development in this historical business line, supported by its 9 assistance call centers. Finally, it enables APRIL to pool medical expenses and therefore increases its negotiating power with healthcare providers, for the benefit of its policy holders and risk carriers.

With operations on every continent, the APRIL group will be able to address the requirements of individuals living abroad more comprehensively, regardless of their country of origin, by offering solutions which are tailored to the local context, but also to the expectations of the group's key accounts partners, brokers, international institutions and businesses.

Established in 1997 in Hong Kong, GlobalHealth has 60 staff members and a turnover of around 6 million euros. Specialised in designing, marketing and managing international group and individual medical insurance products, GlobalHealth makes its products available in 6 different countries: Hong Kong and Singapore for the majority of its current activities, but also Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and China.

Both transactions were funded with the group's available cash. They will be commented on during the presentation of the 2015 annual results, on 3rd March 2016.

Emmanuel Morandini, Deputy CEO of the APRIL group commented, "We would like to welcome the Avilog and GlobalHealth teams which will strengthen and extend our areas of expertise. These acquisitions support our ambition to become a leading provider of products and services to French and international institutions, and an IMPI and assistance key player outside France. The integration of Avilog and GlobalHealth also marks the cautious return of our external growth dynamic in support of our strategic development."

RELATED READING: APRIL Group Announces Acquisition Of GlobalHealth Asia 

Earthquake off the northern coast of Chile. A tsunami warning has been issued for Chile, Peru and Ecuador. At least five people are known to have died and tens of thousands of people have been evacuated.

The quake struck at 20:46 local time about 86km north-west of the mining area of Iquique, the US Geological Survey said. Waves of up to 2.1m have hit some areas and there have been power cuts, fires and landslides.

Around 22,800 British nationals visited Ecuador in 2013. Take out comprehensive travel and medical insurance before you travel.