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LIVONIA, Mich, January 28, 2009 – In a time when employee healthcare and benefits are dwindling due to the economy, there is good news for credit unions. CUcorp, the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Michigan Credit Union League, and Salus Group today announced the sale of CUcorp’s CUCare Group to Salus. The sale is for cash and a substantial CUcorp ownership interest in the Salus Group. The combination of these two strong entities will increase the healthcare and benefit options for credit unions across the country.
For 15 years, CUCare has managed a credit union health insurance program through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) and Blue Care Network (BCN). By acquiring CUCare, Sterling Heights, Michigan based Salus will offer participating credit unions a greater array of products including a complete package of healthcare and pension options. This also opens the door for Salus to offer packages to small businesses related to the credit union family called select employee groups.
“CUCare’s program with BCBSM has been highly successful since its inception,” said David Adams, CEO of CUcorp. “However, CUCare is designed for mid-sized CUs. The new Salus will be better positioned to handle the health insurance needs of credit unions of all sizes in a more cost effective way.”
“Our expertise with larger groups and expanded product offerings will benefit credit unions enormously,” said Michael Brillati, president and CEO of Salus Group. “We will be able write policies to insure and service credit unions’ employee benefits of any asset size. This helps as more credit unions look for employee benefit solutions that attract and retain talent while controlling costs.”
Terms of the sale were not disclosed; however CUcorp will have an equity stake in Salus Group. Brillati will continue in his role as president and CEO of Salus, while Jim Fournier becomes the executive vice president and COO of Salus. Fournier is currently vice president of CUcorp and has built the BCBSM program since 1994. The sale will also allow Salus to provide products and services to credit unions across the country, not just in Michigan.
CUcorp, a marketing company based in Livonia, Michigan and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Michigan Credit Union League, also provides advertising services through CU Growth Solutions and technology solutions through CU Village.
Salus Group is a CUSO that was started in 2005 by Brillati and five Michigan credit unions. It has focused on providing employee benefit programs for small to large employers since its inception and is licensed to do business in Michigan, as well as several other states.
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