Aetna Inc. has announced the purchase of The Chickering Group, a brokerage firm and administrator in providing health benefits to college and university students.
The transaction price was not material to the Hartford, Conn., insurer and was not disclosed Tuesday when the announcement was made.
Aetna and Chickering have had a five-year relationship serving about 283,000 students and more than 100 colleges and universities. Aetna now owns 100% of both Chickering Group entities - its third-party administration business for student health products and its brokerage subsidiary, which has been responsible for the marketing and customer relationships with colleges and universities.
"This transaction meets our objective of making targeted, strategic acquisitions that are consistent with our goal of achieving profitable growth," said John W. Rowe, the chairman and CEO of Aetna. "Chickering is a recognized leader in the marketing and administration of the highly specialized student health insurance" coverages. About two million "of the nation's 14.5 million college students get their coverage from school-sponsored student health plans. We believe this represents an excellent growth opportunity for Aetna."
