Starr International Company, Inc. Acquires Assist-Card International Holdings S.A.; Expands Offerings to Include Travel and Emergency Assistance Servi

NEW YORK - Monday, December 19th 2011 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Starr International Company, Inc. (“Starr”) announced today the acquisition of Assist-Card International Holdings S.A. (Assist-Card), a leading provider of travel and emergency assistance services. Assist-Card boasts a network of providers spanning 107 countries and provides travel and emergency assistance services to over 7 million individuals each year.

Ed Navarro, Head of International Operations for Starr commented, “We are thrilled to welcome Assist-Card to Starr. This acquisition will help broaden opportunities for Starr throughout our portfolio.”

Assist-Card has assistance hubs in Madrid, Spain; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Miami, USA; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Bogota, Colombia; Lima, Peru; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Seoul, South Korea; and more than 60 assistance centers around the globe.

Assist-Card guarantees 24/7/365 accessibility and provides assistance in the customer’s own language. Assist-Card was recently highlighted for the high-profile rescue of Ignacio Javier Lucero, a famous Argentinean mountain climber, who suffered a massive heart attack while climbing the Himalayas in Nepal. Assist-Card coordinated the successful transfer of Mr. Lucero by helicopter to Katmandu, where he underwent life-saving medical procedures.

Alexia Keglevich will remain with Assist-Card as Chief Executive Officer, reporting to Ed Navarro. Remarking on the opportunities ahead, Alexia stated “We are very pleased to be a part of Starr. Starr has a long, successful history in leading organizations around the world. Our partnership will succeed by embodying one team.”

For more information on Starr International, contact Rebecca Nairn at (646) 227-6544 or rebecca.nairn@starrcompanies.com. For more information on Assist-Card contact Claudio Darin at (54-11) 5555 2000 or cdarin@assist-card.com.

Starr International Company, Inc. is a private insurance holding company with four insurance subsidiaries, a Lloyd’s syndicate and an investment portfolio. Starr International’s insurance companies, Starr Indemnity & Liability Company, Starr Insurance & Reinsurance Limited, Starr International Insurance (Asia) Limited, and Starr Surplus Lines Insurance Company, provide high-quality, customized property and casualty and accident & health insurance products, with significant access to the excess and surplus marketplace for certain lines of business. These entities also provide loss control, claims, administrative and reinsurance services to their policyholders. Starr International has also been approved by Lloyd’s as the owner of Lloyd’s CVS 1919 Syndicate.

Assist- Card International Holdings S.A. is a global travel assistance services company. It was founded in Europe in 1972 on a simple and unbreakable promise: "We are always at your service.” Every Assist-Card holder has direct access to over 60 Regional Assistance Centers strategically located around the globe. At these 24-hour emergency centers, a multilingual staff is trained to provide immediate solutions, just a phone call away.

www.starrcompanies.com/assist-card

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50110182&lang=en

Contacts

Starr International

Rebecca Nairn, 646-227-6544

rebecca.nairn@starrcompanies.com



Assist-Card International Holdings S.A.

Claudio Darin, (54-11) 5555 2000

cdarin@assist-card.com