QBE sells travel insurance business to nib

Australia-based QBE Insurance is selling its travel insurance business to health insurer nib holdings (nib).

The transaction, which is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2019, includes 150 employees who will be offered roles with nib.

Nib provides health and medical insurance to more than one million Australian and New Zealand residents and also operates travel insurance distributor World Nomads Group.

The decision to sell the operations was made following a review of QBE Travel and its alignment to QBE’s strategic priorities, the company said.

QBE Australia and New Zealand CEO, Vivek Bhatia, said the move was consistent with the insurer’s approach to building a stronger and simpler QBE.

“While we’re proud of our long history in this market and strong industry partnerships, we felt that this was the best outcome for our customers and business partners as we simplify and strengthen our business.” Bhatia said.

“In nib we have found a buyer who is looking to grow their travel insurance business and they saw a great opportunity to deliver that through this acquisition. We believe nib is a good natural fit given their commitment to the travel market and the obvious synergies with health insurance,” Bhatia added.

“While we expect the deal to be completed in the first quarter of 2019, we will continue to trade as normal throughout that transition period. There is no impact to customers and they can continue to travel knowing they are backed by the same great service they have come to expect,” he said.

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