Triple-S Management Corporation

Triple-S Management Corporation, more commonly known simply as Triple-S, Triple SSS, or SSS, is a financial holding company located in San Juan, Puerto Rico which offers a wide range of insurance products and services in Puerto Rico through its wholly-owned subsidiaries. Founded on 1959, it has become the largest medical insurance provider in Puerto Rico thanks to its licensed affiliation with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, and is one of the major participants in the Puerto Rico health reform program, which provides free and low-cost medical coverage to impoverished citizens. Its headquarters are located at 1441 Franklin D. Roosevelt Ave., in the San Patricio section of San Juan.

The company’s income is derived exclusively from insurance premiums charged to members, and the company holds a substantial market share in Puerto Rico equal to 33%, 8%, and 25% of the medical insurance, property and casualty insurance, and life insurance segments, respectively, based on net insurance premiums. The company provides coverage through its different insurance services to approximately 1.2 million Puerto Ricans, more than 25% of the country’s population. Its rapid growth was aided in part to a total income tax exemption issued in 1979 by the Puerto Rico Treasury Department (Departamento de Hacienda in Spanish), however this was terminated on December 31, 2002 since the exemption was redefined to apply to life insurance companies only.

On January 13, 2006, the company’s Board of Directors issued a statement to announce plans to convert the company from a privately-held company into a publicly-traded corporation. Just 18 days later, on January 31, 2006, Triple-S acquired the Great American Assurance Company of Puerto Rico, also known as GA Life Puerto Rico, for $37.5 million and began to merge its operations with its own life insurance subsidiary Seguros de Vida Triple-S, Inc. in order to expand its market share in the life insurance segment.

Stats

 * Has over $1.137 billion in assets (2005)
 * Approx. 1,860 employees.

Subsidiaries

 * Triple-S, Inc. – Its main subsidiary, Triple S is dedicated to providing medical insurance to companies, organizations, governments, and individuals through its Commercial Program, as well as participating in the Puerto Rico Health Reform Program.
 * Seguros Triple-S, Inc. - A property and casualty insurance company.
 * Seguros de Vida Triple-S, Inc. - A life and disability insurance and annuity products company.
 * GA Life Puerto Rico – A life insurance company currently being merged with Seguros de Vida Triple-S, Inc.
 * Triple-C, Inc. – Serves as a third-party administrator of Triple-S health reform participation.
 * Interactive Systems, Inc. – Provides processing services to Triple-S Management Corporation and its subsidiaries.

Competitors (in Puerto Rico)

 * Humana
 * Medical One
 * Medical Card Systems
 * Puerto Rico Life Insurance Cooperative (Cooperativa de Seguro de Vida de Puerto Rico, or COSVI, in Spanish)