Hewitt Associates acquires retiree medical insurance company

Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing company, today announced it has acquired Senior Educators Ltd. (“Senior Educators”), a trusted, Web-based retiree medical insurance exchange that provides unbiased assistance to Medicare recipients seeking high-quality, affordable supplemental insurance products.

“Senior Educators already has made a positive impact on the lives of tens of thousands of retirees. Hewitt’s existing employer relationships will allow us to bring our solution to large companies that want to provide the best possible support for their retirees”

Many retirees face a dizzying array of retiree medical alternatives and often have trouble navigating the options to find a cost-effective plan that best meets their needs. Senior Educators provides retirees with independent advice on selecting quality, private Medicare insurance to supplement their basic coverage, tailored for their individual health care situation.

“The retiree health insurance market represents an attractive growth opportunity for Hewitt as more employers discontinue retiree medical coverage or look for ways to provide retirees with cost-effective alternatives,” said Russ Fradin, Hewitt’s chairman and chief executive officer. “The acquisition of Senior Educators also allows us to provide our clients with an effective, high-quality option to address their post-65 retiree medical commitments and a framework on which to build solutions for the broader retiree population.”

Founded in 2005, Senior Educators is licensed to market insurance in 50 states and in the District of Columbia. The company has helped more than 100,000 Medicare recipients find the right coverage. Users of Senior Educators’ services can compare and select insurance plans using a do-it-yourself option through the company’s interactive Web site or choose to speak live with a highly trained, licensed representative.

Senior Educators has also forged relationships with employers—those with and without traditional retiree medical offers—that want to provide unbiased resources to their retirees. Through this venture, Hewitt will continue the direct-to-consumer model and increase the emphasis on corporate clients by taking advantage of its already-strong market credibility in health care administration.

“Senior Educators already has made a positive impact on the lives of tens of thousands of retirees. Hewitt’s existing employer relationships will allow us to bring our solution to large companies that want to provide the best possible support for their retirees,” says Brian Poger, president of Senior Educators. “Whether companies currently offer retiree health care, plan to phase out their programs or want to start offering a broader range of choices, Senior Educators has a solution to help retirees seamlessly transition from traditional group insurance coverage to affordable, individual plans.”

The acquisition of Senior Educators provides Hewitt with the key building blocks needed to expand its services in the retiree health market—a solid proprietary technology platform, strong relationships with the major health plan providers and a skilled team. Hewitt will invest in sales, marketing and infrastructure to quickly scale this business.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.