Great-West Life announces acquisition of PlanDirect Insurance Services Inc. (PDAssure)

• Will help position Great-West Life as a leader in the individual health insurance market
• PDAssure to continue as a subsidiary of Great-West Life

WINNIPEG, Sept. 3, 2014 /CNW/ - The Great-West Life Assurance Company today announced that it has acquired PlanDirect Insurance Services Inc. (PDAssure), a service provider that markets and administers individual health insurance for Canadians.

The acquisition is effective immediately. PDAssure will retain its name and will operate as a subsidiary of Great-West Life. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

"We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with PDAssure to acquire their business," said Stefan Kristjanson, Great-West Life's Executive Vice-President, Group. "Great-West Life and PDAssure have had a successful relationship over the past two decades, supporting the individual health insurance needs of Canadian retirees and families. Now with PDAssure as part of our organization, Great-West Life is strongly positioned to become a leader in this marketplace."

"We were looking to retire from a successful business we had built," said Chief Operating Officer Millar Drummond, who along with his partner, President Rolf Normandin, founded PDAssure in Toronto in 1994. "Our choice of Great-West Life was based on a number of factors, including Great-West Life's commitment to client service, reputation for quality, and leadership in serving the group life and health insurance needs of Canadians."

Drummond and Normandin will continue to be associated with PDAssure for an interim period, to help ensure a smooth transition.

About PDAssure
PlanDirect Insurance Services (PDAssure) was founded in Toronto in 1993 with the goal of providing health and dental insurance for retired employees across Canada. Great-West Life agreed to become the insurer and the first policies were issued in July 1994. Initially retirees could select one of two available plans, and had to join within 60 days of retirement.  Today PDAssure offers Plan Direct and Sonata Health products for retirees plus a number of product options. Distribution is primarily through licensed insurance agents but many employers also direct retiring employees to PDAssure.

About Great-West Life
Founded in Winnipeg in 1891, Great-West Life has long been a leader in the group benefits marketplace. The company has established this position over many decades, through its commitment to superior customer service and through a comprehensive selection of cost-effective benefits plans. Great-West Life offers effective benefit solutions for employee groups of any size. The company services the needs of 30,000 plan sponsors and their plan members and handles approximately 50 million group health and dental claims transactions for its plan members and their dependents each year.

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SOURCE: Great-West Life Assurance Company