Gabriella Ben-Hutta
Editor at Coverager

Coverager’s Week in Review: Jan 15-21, 2024

Written by ChatGPT based on Coverager Data

Top Stories

Alliant Affairs: Alliant Insurance Services has announced the appointment of Greg Zimmer as CEO. He assumes the role from longtime Alliant leader Tom Corbett, who will remain as the company’s executive chairman.

MassMutual Affairs: MassMutual subsidiary Flourish, which gives registered investment advisors access to financial products, is now offering annuities.

Travelers Affairs: Travelers reported a net income of $1.626 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2023, showing significant growth compared to $819 million in the same quarter of the previous year. The increase in core income was driven by a higher underlying underwriting gain, lower catastrophe losses, and higher net investment income.

M&A

  • Insurance brokerage platform Keystone Agency Partners has acquired Chicago-based digital broker LifeQuotes.com . Keystone Agency Partners now has 20 platform partners in its portfolio.
  • Inszone Insurance, a national provider of commercial, personal, and benefits insurance, announced its recent acquisition of Jacque Pirtle Insurance, an insurance agency with nearly three decades of serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
  • Brown & Brown Europe’s wholesale and specialty brokerage group, Bridge Specialty International, announces that it has agreed to acquire Acorn International Network, a Singapore-based insurance broker.
  • Ever.Ag announced the acquisition of AgencyRoot, a software platform built for the agri-food sector, designed for crop insurance agents.
  • Roojai, an online agency from Thailand, has taken over Lifepal, an Indonesian digital insurance broker. This is the second insurtech acquisition this month, following Riskonnect’s acquisition of Ventiv Technology (formerly Aon eSolutions), a provider of risk, insurance and underwriting technology solutions.
  • German insurance startup Getsafe has acquired deineStudienfinanzierung, a German digital platform for student loans.
  • Patriot Growth Insurance Services has acquired Momentum Ag, formerly a division of Farmers Business Network. Momentum Ag, formerly FBN Insurance, is focused on the agriculture industry with crop, livestock, and health insurance product offerings. The agency has more than 50 employees and is licensed in 50 states.

Tech Updates

  • Odie uses Five Sigma’s Claims Management System.
  • HDI and Conduit Re are clients of Hyperexponential, which offers a pricing software for insurers.
  • PCF Insurance uses AgentSync’s producer and compliance management software.
  • Centricity and Encore Repair Services have partnered to provide joint programs for servicing, protecting, and supporting consumer products throughout their lifecycle. The partnership combines Centricity’s product protection services with Encore’s expertise in repair and refurbishment. This collaboration offers a comprehensive solution to retailers and manufacturers, focusing on advanced, customer-centric protection products across various categories.
  • Openly works with Bees360, a provider of drone-assisted property inspection service, to streamline its property inspections.
  • Parento, a provider of parental leave insurance, has launched parental leave insurance on the Joshu Platform.
  • AIG Life’s Underwriting Rules Engine utilizes Swiss Re’s Magnum Pure technology.
  • Covea is working with insurance intelligence provider Percayso Inform to use its data enrichment solution.
  • Direct Line, Markerstudy Insurance, Somerset Bridge, and The AA are working with insurance intelligence provider Percayso Inform to use its data enrichment solution.
  • Quincy Mutual Group selects Akur8’s Core Platform solution to expand their pricing capabilities across personal and commercial lines of business.
  • German digital insurer Freeyou has selected Akur8 to boost its pricing capabilities.
  • NFP works with bswift, an employee benefits technology and administration company.
  • North Star Mutual Insurance Company has deployed Kalepa’s Copilot underwriting platform across their property, liability, and umbrella lines of business.

Partnerships

  • Small business insurance startup Foxquilt announced a long-term capacity relationship with specialty insurance provider Markel.
  •  Online pet pharmacy PetRx will offer new and existing customers pet insurance by Odie.
  • Ventis, a London-based MGA focused on commercial and residential real estate, is officially open for business. The company is launching with the support of Mission Underwriters, with long-term capacity through Accelerant Insurance Europe.
  • Securian Canada has partnered with the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) to offer CAA members access to a streamlined portfolio of life and health & dental insurance products.
  • Allianz Partners has been appointed by British banking and insurance holding company NatWest Group as travel insurance provider to their packaged bank account customers.

Insurance Investments

  • Panacea Financial, a company offering financial services to doctors, has raised $24.5 million in Series B funding from Valar Ventures. Panacea also offers life, disability, business, and malpractice insurance in partnership with Treloar & Heisel, an Epic company.
  • VC firm Thomvest Ventures has closed a new $250 million fund that will be deployed into startups operating in the areas of fintech, proptech, cybersecurity, and cloud and AI infrastructure. Thomvest Ventures has backed several insurance startups including Ladder Insurance and Obie.
  • Radian Group has made a strategic investment in FinLocker, a personal financial fitness and homeownership tool. Terms of the investment weren’t disclosed.
  • Nest Collaborative , a telehealth service specializing in lactation, recently secured $6 million in Series A funding, boosting its total capital to over $10 million.
  • Insurance brokerage platform Keystone Agency Partners has amended and upsized its existing debt facility by securing an additional $330 million of financing.