http://www3.ambest.com/ambv/bestnews/newscontent.aspx?refnum=193721&altsrc=114&SrvId=156

appears to be travel insurance and assistance and data theft protection services.

"For a big worldwide company like ours, in North America we're not a household word," said Chris Carnicelli, chief executive officer of Generali Global Assistance North America. He noted that Generali is an insurance power worldwide.

Carnicelli said travel insurance is a rapidly growing market, at $2.2 billion in the United States alone, of which Generali has an 8% market share. What Generali has done, he said, is to rebrand one if its best-known brands in the United States, the travel assistance and insurance unit Europe Assistance, as Generali Global Assistance, with a branding effort called "We Connect."

"It's a dual meaning," said Carnicelli. "The connect strategy is twofold. We are connecting the insurance company with the assistance company. We're leaders in both."

Secondly, he said Generali is bringing the customer together with what he said is "the power of the Generali brand with our assistance DNA." Outside the United States, he said, "Generali has been around since 1831. It's extremely strong and stable."

The Europe assistance business, now rebranded Global Assistance, is the originator of the assistance business, said Carnicelli.

Travel assistance and insurance make a logical fit with data and identity theft protection, according to Paige Schaffer, president and chief operating officer of Generali Global Assistance's Identity and Digital Protection Services' global unit.

Schaffer told Best's News Service the assistance business "is an important differentiator for our identity protection product." She added that people who lose their identity to theft usually do so when traveling. "Think about core assistance of helping people out of difficult situations," she said. "We've got that assistance in our DNA, helping people get new passports, cash advances, dealing with embassies."

The connection between emerging global assistance and travel insurance had a 50-year history for Generali, said Schaffer. "And we have also been selling identity and digital protection since 2003," she added.

"With the marriage of assistance and a global presence, we're looking to be the first truly global identity and data protection company," she said.

Generali North America's other main product in the United States is identity theft, headquartered in the company's Bethedsa, Maryland location through the rebranded Generali Global Assistance, which Schaffer said is a "combined insurance and global assistance offering."

To get the U.S. effort going, Generali North America launched Iris OnWatch, an identity protection platform. Schaffer said the platform was launched in the United States, and will be launched at end of year in Canada.

"We're looking at South Africa and India and Europe over next couple of years," she said. Schaffer noted that Mexico is not yet a priority, "but we have sights on Spanish-speaking potential customers in the United States and other countries" that may be able to support a Spanish-language portal. So other companies would also be interested.

By year's end, Generali plans to offer smartphone protection and secured browser service, among other features, said Schaffer. Anti-malware, password protection and an opt-out for junk mail are also possible, she said.

Generali had recently said it would seek to raise its U.S. profile in commercial property insurance with several moves over the past year that included Tribune, a new property insurance line (Best's News Service, April 11, 2016).

Assicurazioni Generali SpA has a current Best's Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent).