AXA has announced the sale of dental insurance company Denplan to healthcare group Simplyhealth for £115 million.
Denplan covers more than 1.8 million patients across the UK and 6,500 dentists, and was bought by AXA as part of its acquisition of insurer Guardian Royal Exchange in 1999.
The sale follows a strategic review of the AXA UK business and comes after the sale of its life arm to Resolution for £2.75 billion last year.
It is ‘committed to Denplan’s brand and strategy of providing a full range of added value services and support to dentists, practice teams, patients’
As the UK’s largest provider of health cash plans, Simplyhealth has a rapidly growing presence in the private medical insurance market and has announced it is ‘committed to Denplan’s brand and strategy of providing a full range of added value services and support to dentists, practice teams, patients, brokers, businesses and independent schools’.
Denplan’s managing director, Steve Gates, said: ‘We are confident that we will benefit from the fact that Simplyhealth is solely focused on health, as well as being a UK-based organisation based on mutual principles which shares the same values and ethos as Denplan.’
He added: ‘This change also provides Denplan with some very exciting opportunities to further enhance the services and support that we can provide our dentist and patient members. As we go forward into 2012, our absolute focus will remain on supporting them.’
Des Benjamin, CEO of Simplyhealth, said: ‘Over the past 10 years, Simplyhealth has been on a path of growth and diversification. By joining with companies that share common values, we have been building a strong organisation for the future that can help more people, in more ways, to look after their health.
‘Our goal is to become an important, high quality part of the new health system as it emerges over the next few years. The acquisition of Denplan is an important step on this journey.’
