Founded in Lennoxville, Quebec in 1984 as a privately owned company specializing in group and international student insurance, etfs has always had a strong entrepreneurial spirit, exemplified by family and company patriarch Steve Allatt and sons, Reg and Brian. Steve Allatt and original partner Johanne Ouellette used their combined knowledge of the insurance industry and Johanne’s experience with student services at the Université de Sherbrooke to ensure etfs was a success from the very beginning.
In 1992, sweeping changes to the Canadian healthcare system drastically altered government insurance coverage for out-of-country travellers. These changes gave etfs the opportunity to enter the individual travel insurance industry. In 1996, etfs established a fully owned subsidiary, named Global Excel Management Inc., to provide assistance, cost containment, case management and claims adjudication services for etfs policyholders; over the years the services provided have continued to expand along with the number of clients served.
Today, etfs offers several dozen group and individual products geared toward the travel and specialized health insurance industry. From its roots in 1984, etfs has grown rapidly and continually over the years. There are currently more than 400 employees working at etfs and our world headquarters continue to be located in Sherbrooke, Quebec, where the company began.
