CEO Robin Ingle said partnering with firms outside of Canada will allow the newly branded ‘Imagine’ services to reach nearly one million students in 2015.

The company’s latest partnership with US-based Global Secutive last year gave it access to around 200,000 new students in the US, matching its existing student client base in Canada.

“In the last year we’ve moved from being in a partnership to an operational mode”

“When we add that to our Latin American and European operations we’re going to have access to close to a million students that we’ll be providing services to,” Ingle told The PIE News.

The Secutive partnership follows a number of strategic alliances with major insurance companies worldwide, including Sun Life Financial in Canada, UnitedHealthcare in the US, and Munich Re in the US and Europe.

“In the last year we’ve moved from being in a partnership to an operational mode: investing into these companies and inviting them to be part of our global network,” Ingle said.

Plans for the first quarter of 2015 include expanding current operations across Latin America, including Mexico and Brazil, with a full range of insurance products being made available to students coming in and out of the region by April 2015.

Combining resources will also enable Ingle International to enhance current services, including its medical telecare and online insurance and healthcare information portals, covering topics such as international student mental wellness, offered alongside its claims services.

“Doing these kinds of equity partnerships is much better for us and much better for the groups we’re dealing with,” Ingle explained.

“They run their business the way they have in the past but have the added capability that we have in our companies and we can work together as a team to provide more value to their clients and our customers worldwide.”

Speaking about the rebrand, Ingle said that the name ‘Imagine’ “works very well in different languages” as well as being a “good global brand”, having been the company’s insurance provider group since 2000.