London 5 May 2008: Voyager, the specialist travel broker owned by independent
underwriting and broking group Somerville Underwriting Holdings plc, has acquired
its long term strategic partner CH Facilities (CHF) to boost its travel, accident and
sickness and health capabilities.
Trading as Able2Travel, broker CHF, which was bought for an undisclosed sum,
specialises in providing travel insurance to travellers with complex medical histories.
The acquisition will immediately add £1.3m to Voyager’s existing £12m gross written
premiums. Overall, Somerville now manages in excess of £50m GWP.
The deal will add to and complement Voyager’s existing comprehensive travel
insurance offering. Prior to the acquisition Voyager arranged CHF’s underwriting
facilities for many years.
CHF will be merged with Voyager under director Jonathan Buttery. He said:
“Following our long-standing relationship with this first class niche business, we are
pleased to announce this has been taken one step further by welcoming CHF to
become part of Voyager.
“Complex medical histories are a common exclusion for many travel insurers.
Therefore great potential exists in making a product that can cater for these travellers
more broadly available. A pre-existing medical condition was once seen as a barrier
to overseas travel, however those with complex medical histories can now buy cover
for almost any destination.
“CHF’s acquisition by Somerville will enable us to further develop our highly skilled
team and deliver an enhanced service for both intermediaries and the travelling
public.”
Established in 1996 and acquired by Somerville in September 2007, Guildford based
Voyager is one of the UK’s leading travel insurance specialists providing bespoke
travel insurance schemes to insurance brokers and third party intermediaries. These
include tour operators, travel agents, ferry companies and online insurance
specialists. Its product offering spans the full range of travel insurance from singletrip,
long stay and annual multi-trip to winter sports and European vehicle assistance.
