Determined to give travellers rest of mind wherever they may be in any part of the world, Aiico Insurance Plc is providing travel health insurance plan in partnership with a South African based insurer, Chartis. Chartis, formerly known as American International Group (AIG) South Africa is the largest insurance conglomerate in South Africa with capitalisation in excess of USD100bn. The company’s Managing Director, David Sobanjo, who made this known during a chat with journalists in Lagos recently, said the partnership has placed AIICO as the leading provider of travel insurance products in Nigeria. Sobanjo explained that the travel insurance plan is designed to meet people’s need as it is now a requirement for all visa applicants travelling to any of the Schengen states in Europe to have insurance in place to cover emergency medical expenses and the cost of repatriation to Nigeria if need be. Travellers to any of the Schengen countries including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, and Latvia, are opportune to take advantage of this product. People travelling to other Schengen countries such as Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland will also be doing themselves a lot of good by purchasing the travel insurance product. Apart from the listed Schengen countries and South Africa, Sobanjo enjoined people travelling to other countries of the world either for business, educational, religious or holiday purposes to ensure that arrange this travel insurance policy before leaving the country. He further informed that the insurance company has simplified the process of arranging the travel insurance cover such that from the point of ticket purchase, the traveller gets AIICO travel health insurance plan automatically. The AIICO Insurance boss added that the travelers, who purchase this travel insurance policy are entitled to emergency medical expenses, optical or dental care, cost of repatriation, return of mortal remains, as well as, burial/ coffin expenses. AIICO is the largest life insurer in Nigeria and a major player in general insurance business. The company’s success has been the result of its ability to evaluate its potentials, by setting realistic goals and taking necessary actions to achieve them. Over the last couple of years, the company has made a shift from concentrating on retail insurance to becoming a provider of wholesale insurance. Its strength lies in its ability to attract corporate clients and this has seen its assets grow tremendously. AIICO was established in 1963 and granted operating licence as a private limited liability company to offer life and pension products and insurance services. It converted to a Plc in 1989 and listed its shares on the floor of the NSE in December 1990. The company has a major advantage in terms of reach as its branches and agency offices are spread all over the country. AIICO currently has two subsidiary companies including AIICO General Insurance Limited and AIICO Asset Management Limited and maintains a pool of reinsurers such as Munich Re, Swiss Re and Africa Re.