Europ Assistance USA

Europ Assistance is a provider of travel, automotive, health, and personal services including emergency medical transportation, medical referrals, case monitoring, roadside assistance claims management, identity theft resolution and data breach response services. In the United States, services are sold via a business to business or business to business to consumer model to corporations, insurance companies, financial institutions, and leisure travel companies, Europ Assistance USA serves 208 countries and territories around the world. [http://www.europassistance-usa.com Welcome to Europ Assistance USA ] ]

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland on Maryland Route 410 (East-West Highway) [http://www.gazette.net/stories/062708/businew175507_32356.shtml] , Europ Assistance USA is a branch of the multinational Europ Assistance Group and its network of 70 companies, 5,500 employees and more than 402,000 service providers and 400 in-house medical personnel.

History

Pierre Desnos founded Europ Assistance in 1963, following the misfortune of friends who had been victims of an accident abroad. At the time, no organization guaranteed assistance to travelers. With the financial backing of André Rosa, the Chairman of Concorde Insurance Company, Desnos created Europ Assistance in Paris. The company offered a new type of service: not a reimbursement or the promise of indemnity, but immediate assistance adapted to meet the needs of people in every conceivable difficulty. Europ Assistance set out to change the world with multilingual switchboard attendants, a medical team, agents in 17 countries, and a dozen permanent employees. During the very first year, several lives were saved and 163 assistance operations were performed.

Assicurazioni Generali, a Global 500 company, wholly owns Europ Assistance. [ [http://www.generali.it/generaliit/home.do Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A ] ]

Travel services

Europ Assistance USA offers support to employers and other institutions for travelers abroad, including emergency cash advance, lost document assistance, emergency translation assistance by phone, medical prescription replacement and in worst case scenarios, medical evacuation and repatriation. Europ Assistance USA’s health services support international clients with claims management and cost containment services.

Identity theft services

Europ Assistance USA's Identity Theft Resolution Service is offered to employers, financial institutions, and insurance companies. Acting as an identity theft victim’s advocate, Europ Assistance USA takes necessary steps to contact credit agencies, law enforcement agencies, and any necessary legal support. This service is helpful for corporations, ensuring that employees remain productive during the entire process, and the corporation is protected from any liability resulting from an employee information breach.

References

[Washington Business Journal - September 14, 2007] http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2007/09/17/story10.html

[Reuters - February 27, 2008] http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS175059+27-Feb-2008+MW20080227

[Insurance Newscast - August 9, 2007] http://www.insurancebroadcasting.com/080907-headlines.htm