GE Financial Assurance Partners with Citigroup to Market LTC Insurance

GE Financial Assurance announced the signing of a definitive agreement to underwrite and distribute long term care insurance through a long-term strategic alliance with Citigroup.

Under the agreement, GE will acquire 90% of the long term care insurance portfolio of Citigroup's Travelers Life & Annuity unit, as well as enter into a continuing marketing agreement with the distribution channels of both Citigroup and Travelers.

Salomon Smith Barney Inc. is acting as the financial adviser to Citigroup and Travelers in the transaction. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

GE Financial Assurance will sell long-term care insurance to customers of Citibank, Primerica, Salomon Smith Barney, Copeland, and Travelers Life & Annuity, according to Michael D. Fraizer, president and CEO of GE Financial Assurance. "Citigroup's broad and diverse distribution system is a great complement to GE's expertise in long term care insurance," he said.

GE has been selling LTC coverage for 25 years. The partnership with Citigroup wlll enable the carrier to take advantage of additional distribution channels, noted Tom Skiff, president of GE's Long Term Care Division, based in San Rafael, Calif.

Long-term care insurance helps pay for care and treatment associated with lengthy, expensive assistance with daily living activities. Policies typically allow policyholders to choose specific types of care and LTC facilities -- such as home care or skilled nursing facilities.

A growing number of insurers have marketed LTC coverage in recent years, but it has yet to become a popular corporate-sponsored employee benefit.