APRIL completes an acquisition to develop its position in the loan insurance market outside France and gives a new impetus to the Italian market

Integrating two new companies to grow our loan insurance business

APRIL Santé Prévoyance (ASP), a subsidiary of the APRIL group specialised in individual insurance and leader in the design, management and distribution of individual loan insurance in France, has acquired 80% of the
capital of Bamado, a holding company established in 2002 which owns Brokeronline and Webclaim, two companies based in Milan. The teams will report to Carlotta Mattioli, CEO of APRIL in Italy, and will also be
working very closely with the APRIL Santé Prévoyance's teams (our subsidiary specialised in health and personal protection) based in Lyon.

With some fifteen members of staff, Brokeronline, whose main activity is loan insurance, has a wealth of expertise in policy underwriting and management. The company also offers e-learning via the website http://www.corsiassicurativi.it, an asset with great potential which sets it apart both in the Italian and other European markets. Brokeronline joins the APRIL group with a portfolio of clients including a major international bank as one of its long-standing partners.

Webclaim, which has a team of five staff members, specialises in claims handling.

Both companies recorded a turnover of almost €3 million in 2015.

The acquisition will enable APRIL Santé Prévoyance to build on its established assets as a leader in loan insurance outside France, and enable APRIL in Italy to accelerate the development of its loan insurance and
third party administration services. The two companies will therefore be working in close collaboration.

“The integration of these companies will enable APRIL to diversify its range of services and in particular to increase its third party administration capacity for major, internationally renowned banks and financial
institutions in the Italian market.” explains Emmanuel Morandini, Deputy CEO of the group.

For Roger Mainguy, CEO of APRIL Santé Prévoyance: “This operation is a key stage in ASP's international expansion strategy, in order to identify new sources of potential growth in one of our core business areas.”

Focus on APRIL in Italy: a new management team for a clear road map

“We are delighted to welcome the Brokeronline and Webclaim teams, whose expertise will now enable us to offer a full range of services to the Italian market, from designing insurance products to protect individuals
(health, accidents, etc.) to distributing them through our brokers, but also policy and claims handling and professional training via an e-learning platform.” points out Carlotta Mattioli, CEO of APRIL in Italy. “The wholesale broker model needs to be developed further in the Italian market, which has a potential of 25,000 brokers. We know that we can make a place for ourselves here and this acquisition, along with the new impetus we are driving forward in Italy, will help us do so.”

APRIL in Italy in figures:

Established in 1999

15 staff members

15 products

This growth by acquisition is in fact part of APRIL in Italy's transformation drive, which was launched over a year ago by Carlotta Mattioli, when she took over the management of the subsidiary. She appointed a new, strong team of managers and staff, each with a wealth of experience and expertise in the Italian insurance market. At the beginning of 2016, she also decided to move the teams to new offices in Milan, to mark the company's new impetus.

The roadmap is ambitious, as APRIL in Italy's ambition for its individual and small business customers brokers is to:

broaden its range of personal protection insurance products
accelerate its growth in the loan insurance market, with brokers and key accounts (banks and financial institutions in particular)
develop its network of partners, including key accounts (insurance companies and financial institutions)
offer more digital services

Digitalisation at the heart of transformation

In order to showcase its range of products, APRIL has launched a new version of its website in Italy, dedicated to its brokers. The aim is to make it easier to take out basic products online and to facilitate cross-selling, for
example by recommending other products and services which may be of interest to customers taking out policies. Through a 'test and learn' innovation model, APRIL in Italy will continue to develop its website over the coming months, by incorporating feedback from users.

APRIL

16 June 2016