BEFORE YOU HIT THE OPEN ROAD, PROTECT THAT HOME ON WHEELS

Are you ready to get on the road, eat up the miles, and go wherever the wind — and your RV — take you? Your RV is your ticket to freedom. Proof that you can’t be pinned down or stuck in one spot for long. The open road is calling, but before you jump in the driver’s seat, protect your RV from the dangers that lurk on the road. Make sure you have the right kind of and enough RV insurance. Does Your RV Need Insurance? There’s a difference between insurance being required and being needed. Depending on the type of RV you have, it might not be required, but to protect yourself and avoid paying too much out-of-pocket after an accident, it’s definitely needed. First, it’s important to understand the different classes of RVs. Class A: luxury coaches, motor coaches, and renovated buses, up to 75 feet long. Class B: the smallest class of RVs, these include travel trailers and camper vans, but don’t have a cab-over. Class C: fifth wheel vehicles and vehicles that use a standard cargo van for driving and the camper extends over the cab area. Unless you have a loan on the camper you tow (generally a Class C vehicle), you aren’t required to carry extra insurance. But because the cost of damages after an accident can be so expensive, the additional coverage is an investment in your future.

Spotlight

Prepared Insurance Company

Prepared Insurance is a privately held Company with a highly experienced management team and Board of Directors positioned to ensure a disciplined approach to policy acquisition to result in long term stability and success in the Florida marketplace. Prepared’s executive team has over 175 years of Insurance experience, comprised of CPAs, CPCUs, industry veterans, with backgrounds in Finance, Risk Management, Marketing, Sales, Customer Service and IT, all of whom have executive/management experience with top national Property & Casualty companies and/or catastrophe modeling firms.

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Insurance Technology

Time to Overcome Barriers in Your Decision-Making with Data Analytics

Article | August 9, 2022

A quick Google Trends search on data reveals that data analytics, data and analytics, data analysis, and predictive analytics have steadily grown in popularity among businesses across industries. These terms peaked when business leaders searched for ways to increase ROI and reduce business costs and tech-based investments. The insurance industry is amongst the industries actively leveraging data analytics. The rising importance of analytics in insurance has made CMOS take note too. As agility became more important in the insurance industry, more than 85% of global businesses shifted to a data-driven model. The purpose of taking you back is to emphasize that, as a CMO, now you need to churn accurate data and turn it into relevant information. This is a necessary model to practice to make the right decisions or will improve the decision-making process. Without data analytics, you are deciding in a void, and that’s not considered good practice. Forrester reports that 41% of insurance companies faced challenges in extracting data and making decisions based on it in 2020. Take a look at how and what you can do with insurance analytics to cater to better insights into your decision-making process and, finally, ROI generation. Bring Data to These Key Levels of Departments Marketing Analytics in insurance raises the bar in terms of marketing. As you know, marketing results frequently fluctuate, making data insights challenging to capture. CMOS who base their decisions solely on outcomes usually loses sight of making sound decisions due to unstructured data. Therefore, it is essential to have an aligned platform for data analysis in insurance. To begin with, marketers must understand the various types of data analytics available. Most insurance marketers employ descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics, among others. This will assist them in strategizing based on continuous data insights from various sources for any given initiative. Sales Sales leaders can also improve how they spend their time by using data analytics to create more accurate sales forecasts. However, the question is, how will they do it efficiently? CRM software is the answer and solution to them. The software performs best because of its analytical capabilities in combination with data visualization, particularly predictive functions. It generates enormous amounts of data on customer interactions, which can then be used to inform decisions. You can assemble relevant data and use it to make some decisions, such as: Acquisition and management of leads Lead segmentation Sales funnel optimization There is enormous value in optimizing productive data by focusing on prospects likely to become loyal customers. Operations Utilizing data analytics in insurance boosts insurance operations. Small changes help to align a wide range of core processes. You can access data obtained from operations, observe key aspects of the overall processes, and make appropriate decisions. A targeted, timely, and data-driven approach will help you make decisions about these key functions, which can lead to business growth in the long run. Bain's research in 2019 reports that seventy insurers were polled. They say data analytics will reach 58% in the marketing funnel and 45% in business operations. Begin with Overcoming Barriers to your Decision-Making Process Use Data to Identify Customer Patterns Information from data can identify patterns. As mentioned above in the sales section, CRM's predictive modelling and the popular Google Analytics' descriptive overview are the two best platforms for identifying customer patterns. What is the best way to get pertinent data? Data mining is the answer to it. Do you want to know about it? Then read data mining for pattern evaluation now! As a CMO, you're probably aware that behavioral patterns are highly predictable and can sometimes result in unsatisfactory outcomes. This occurs when you are unable to obtain relevant data. And you end up performing ineffective marketing activities. To assist you in overcoming it, an AI-enabled platform can reduce the level of effort and provide the necessary data to study your customers' patterns in real-time. This is how you will notice a significant increase in sales. According to research by McKinsey and Company, automation saves 43% of insurance employees’ time. Segmenting Sales Plans Following the establishment of your customers' patterns, segmenting the insurance sales plan is a necessary step. In this process, analytics provide detailed information about customers, allowing you to make decisions about sales functionalities. This will undoubtedly reduce the time, energy, and effort you previously spent. Accurate customer segmentation and sales forecasting can also help tailor marketing efforts, improve the sales funnel, and keep sales strategies in check. When Media 7 contacted Vishal Srivastava, Vice President (Model Validation) at Citi, here’s what he said about data segmentation through data analytics. CMOs must ensure that adequate data quality checks have been performed, The goal is to ensure a scientific approach to data segmentation, sampling methodology, and data outliers, which can significantly impact revenue forecasts.” Pricing & Savings Analytics in insurance marketing can help CMOs make cost-cutting decisions and become more cost-effective in marketing efforts. It can set price ranges based on historical, current, and predictive performance. Also, analytics will help you figure out how to price things in the future, which will be good for ROI. Keep Improving with Data to Stay Abreast with The Decision-Making Process Better data organization in your business boosts productivity." Warren Buffett, an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. This phase is best suited to the current business environment. Implementing data analytics in insurance now will open up tremendous opportunities in the future. To make the most of them, you, as a CMO, must stick to a data-driven model for marketing actions. Aside from that, it appears that the data analytics you select for your business must be capable of informing and driving performance. Performances ranging from risk assessment to sales forecasting and a plethora of actionable insights assist businesses in thriving. Frequently Asked Question How are data analytics used in insurance companies? Data analytics empowers insurers to optimize each function and also assess risks. It also identifies trustworthy customers, which further boosts engagement. What does data analytics mean in insurance? Data analytics empowers insurance professionals by providing them with the business intelligence to understand their customers better, build better products and services, and thus, boost business growth. How are insurance companies using data? Insurers can use data to gain insights from customers’ profiles. They can review their history, behavioral pattern, and marketing needs to develop strategies and provide marketing services.

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Claims

4 Aspects of Cyber Insurance that SMBs Must Know

Article | July 15, 2022

The pandemic pressed many businesses to go remote. While this enabled employees and their organizations to continue doing business in the face of global uncertainty, the fragility of cybersecurity infrastructure became more apparent than ever. From remote work to a more powerful online presence, cybersecurity threats are a significant challenge for many organizations. With data security, exposure to these threats meant cyber insurance needed to be amped up. In the race to fortify cybersecurity, small businesses, which have limited resources to train their IT staff, have much catching up to do. As a matter of fact, practically all small businesses maintain sensitive data on their staff, clients, or suppliers, making them open to hacking attempts, malware attacks, digitalfraud, and other online threats. A cyberattack can force a firm to cease operations, incur significant losses, and unanticipated costs, and harm their brand. This is why cyber insurance is so critical. Here are four things SMBs must understand about cyber insurance and what it covers. In Case of Data Breaches Data breaches are one of the most common types of cyberattacks on small firms. Cyber insurance coversthe cost of locating the origin of a data breachand assessing whether the information lost poses any legal obligations. It also includes the price of meeting those obligations, including sending notifications to affected clients, setting up a call center, and providing credit monitoring, as well as the price of hiring legal counsel and paying any fines or penalties. In Case of Malware Attacks Ransomware and malware attacks allow criminals to break into an organization’s back-end data. They use it to steal customer information or simply encrypt it which allows them to demand random from the business to reclaim access. Cyber insurance can pay for all of the expenses involved in restoring the system, including recovering data, ransomware removal, vulnerability patching, and, if required, paying the ransom itself. A ransomware attack is the most disruptive,and it may be covered if there is economic loss for the company. In Case of Phishing and Cyber Fraud By gaining access to a company's computer system, social engineering letscriminals trick employees intosettlingfictitious bills or diverting cash to their accounts. Businesses may be able to recoup lost funds with the use of cyberinsurance. Third-Party Coverage Third-party insurance can shield firms from cyber-related legal troubles, such as government responseor class-action lawsuits brought on by, for instance, unintentional malware spreador the inability to curbunauthorized access to companysystems. It covers all legal expenses, such as settlements and lawyer fees. What’s the Bottom Line? Cyber insurance cannot be an alternative to a robust cyber security infrastructure. And small businesses cannot afford to keep vulnerabilities in their systems. Many cyber advice solution providers offer advisory and risk assessment services that may be just what small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) need to start improving the security of their systems.

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Insurance Technology

Are motor claims in Europe about to rebound?

Article | July 13, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to the insurance industry overall, dramatically curtailing business activity, upending the everyday lives of employees and customers, and more. However, companies that derive a substantial portion of their business from motor insurance have enjoyed stronger bottom-line results during the pandemic than in previous years. That’s because when sudden lockdowns kept drivers at home and off the road (see exhibit), claims plunged by 60 to 80 percent almost immediately. As restrictions began to lift, claim volumes subsequently bounced back, although they remain 20 to 30 percent lower than they were before the pandemic. The corresponding drop in payouts for claims was only partially offset by the refunds on premiums that insurers paid to customers to compensate them for traveling fewer miles. Are motor claims in Europe about to rebound? As of mid-2021, motor claims volume remains suppressed—at least for the time being. For insurers, this offers a short-term window to pursue or accelerate strategic initiatives aimed at establishing claims excellence, a key driver of profitability. These initiatives include transforming claims processes to improve customer experience, building digital capabilities, leveraging advanced analytics to improve decision-making, and reducing long-standing sources of leakage. Acting now will help insurers be prepared when vaccination rates across Europe accelerate, economies reopen, and both mobility and motor claims rebound. Even as the pandemic recedes and business returns, insurers are likely to confront three persistent challenges that can be addressed—at least in part—by transforming claims management to improve profitability. Top-line pressure will continue. Pandemic-related top-line pressure will likely continue for the foreseeable future. If history serves as a guide, commercial lines, which suffered from a temporary halt in business activity in the tourism, aviation, entertainment, and local business sectors, may be slow to recover. During the 2008 financial crisis, for instance, commercial lines took significantly longer to recover than personal lines. As for personal lines today, declines in everyday commuting have altered customers’ perceptions of the value of insurance: if they drive less, they expect to pay less. As noted above, some insurers have proactively offered their customers premium paybacks for reduced car usage—a change that could endure. Digital is here to stay. Because of the pandemic, people shifted many everyday activities to remote channels and adopted new digital tools. For example, across Europe, 60 to 70 percent of consumers moved some of their shopping online, and most intend to perpetuate the new habit after the pandemic ends. This shift in customer behavior extended to engagement with insurers. In the United Kingdom, claims notifications filed via digital channels doubled during the pandemic, and insurers received 30 percent more digital inquiries than in the past. However, customers’ growing expectations for an end-to-end digital experience—with 24/7 service, instant feedback, and a user-friendly interface—still place most insurers in the position of playing catch-up. The large majority of customers still prefer to place a call rather than use digital self-service; in Europe, for example, more than 50 percent of claims are initiated when a customer contacts an agent. This preference could indicate that insurers have yet to fully digitize the claims handling process. Inflation will affect claims costs. Insurers anticipate increased pressure on claims costs from multiple sources. First, car repair shops have suffered the knock-on effects of the COVID-19-induced drop in claims volume. Many received government help, but they also responded by increasing labor rates and margins on spare parts. The claims inflation rate currently sits at 4 to 5 percent. Ongoing cost pressure means repair shops are unlikely to reinstate their pre-COVID-19 price levels without some restructuring in the sector. In one scenario, insurers could step into the role of ecosystem orchestrators, significantly consolidating repair volumes and offering strong incentives—including extending insurance services to include maintenance and offering negotiated prices for parts and labor—to repair shops to participate. Meanwhile, insurers can analyze increased volumes of claims data to continually assess the performance of repair shops and then use those insights to guide customers to the best deals. Even before the pandemic, insurers had made strides in improving the bottom line by increasing productivity and optimizing technical excellence, particularly via pricing. Now is the time to tackle claims. Claims organizations can use this period of lower claims volume to plan their strategic investments in advanced analytics transformation, to devise new digital talent strategies, and to improve their understanding of customer needs and expectations. A complete suite of analytics and updated process automation—prerequisites for accurate, end-to-end automation—constitute the backbone of the new claims and customer experience model. The tools are evolving, driving automated decision-making along the entire claims handling process: routing, triaging, liability negotiation, cost estimating, deciding to repair or write off damaged vehicles, cash settlements, and fraud detection. All these areas will increasingly use digital and analytics as opposed to manual labor, changing the entire claims operating model. Responding to customer demands for a seamless claims experience is a top priority. The pandemic has proved that customers are eager for and accepting of new digital experiences. They expect full transparency throughout the claims journey; minimal effort on their part (for example, very little engagement back and forth with the agent to get the claim resolved and receive payment); faster resolution of claims, perhaps including automated payments; and the ability to move seamlessly between the digital and physical worlds. Furthermore, insurers can work to reduce leakage and improve the bottom line. Leakage takes many forms, including replacing rather than repairing a vehicle, offering a luxury replacement vehicle rather than a car that matches the customer’s vehicle class, and incurring costs for in-person loss assessments even in obvious cases for which pictures would suffice. Tackling leakage will entail enabling efficient detection of anomalies, selecting claims for detailed review, and empowering the claims organizations to efficiently close claims that cast no doubt. Accomplishing these critical objectives will entail a shift from a scattered and often siloed approach using unintegrated digital and analytics tools to end-to-end digital- and analytics-enabled claims processes. On the front end, insurers will need to establish tools on par with the top digital services their customers use every day (for example, ride-hailing apps, social media, and digital banks). On the back end, claims organization will need to invest in a suite of analytics engines to support automated decision-making to cut costs. The opportunity starts with claims prevention—using telematics and the Internet of Things to issue safety warnings and damage prevention tips—and continues throughout the claims processing journey, from providing customers with an easy digital first notice of loss interface and improving claims cost accuracy, to digital selection of a repair shop and automated payment processing and invoice checks. This relative lull in activity also gives insurers a good time to provide teams handling claims with the training they need to learn new processes and operate new digital tools. Claims are already rebounding, so the clock is ticking for insurers. Building end-to-end digital and analytics solutions requires significant investment and will take substantial time. For claims organizations, it is critical to act now or risk missing the opportunity to emerge from the pandemic stronger than competitors.

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Insurance Technology

Cloud Insurance Solutions Are Imperative for Insurers

Article | June 10, 2022

Insurance customers look for result-driven insurance services and products. To meet those demands and grow revenue, insurers need to move beyond conventional methods and envision their insurance business' customer interaction as aiding in the management of product and service deliveries. This necessitates a cloud-based strategy for future-ready operations. This is where the concept of cloud insurance comes into play. Insurers are receiving signals that the moment has come to invest heavily in the cloud ecosystem. But how? Read about it in the following points. The revenue landscape is shifting Investing in cloud infrastructure allows insurers to gain a competitive advantage in new revenue streams. In addition, it depicts a protected sphere where all the insurance business operations are risk-free, free of cyber risks and intrusions. Digital distribution appeals to customers and capital Customer-centric innovations, such as product distribution or cloud-enabled services, draw investors' attention. This results in increased revenue production. Why is There a Need for Cloud Insurance Solutions for Businesses? Insurance businesses face numerous obstacles in a continually shifting market position each day. As a result, insurance companies must primarily respond to the demanding and rising needs of customers. Cloud technology provides accurate solutions for the same. Let's look at the need for cloud solutions amid the trending approach. Customers expect personalized products, services, and experiences to support chosen communication channels like social media, a website, or a portal. Consequently, insurers need to improve their “speed to market” approach, which is possible through cloud technology and provide competitive products and services. Furthermore, sales growth remains under constant pressure. As a result, cost reduction is another eye-catching feature for insurance companies. By streamlining procedures and operations under one roof, decentralized, and digitalized, cloud insurance best suits to decrease costs and expenditure. Not to forget, globalization demands insurance businesses be more flexible and agile to win new markets and obtain new prospects. Cloud insurance infrastructure solutions are critical today and, in the future, to achieving all of these objectives. The Insurer’s Viewpoint is Critical for Success According to the report, leaders are more likely to use Cloud SaaSs, big data, AI and machine learning, and the Internet of Things (IoT). However, given the findings of the aforementioned study, it is clear that moving to the cloud is merely a baby step on a long journey of technological advancement. Cloud computing has emerged as a critical tool for digitization, and the significant challenges posed by the COVID-19 issue have highlighted the benefits of cloud computing." Peter Heidkamp, Head of Technology at KPMG. The Internet of Services and SaaS as a service is particularly appealing to insurance businesses when it comes to cloud insurance (SaaS). In addition, SaaS licensing options allow customers to obtain software to reduce internet and operational costs. The real use cases or benefits of the cloud are: Business scalability and flexibility Increased customer satisfaction Optimizing business processes Cost reduction Encourages business backups Cloud Insurance: A Wake-up Call for Opportunities Cloud technology and its solutions enable insurers to leverage cloud capabilities and resources to stay abreast with market developments. The technology meticulously encourages customized products and services on time, develops corporate networks, and implements new business processes with high revenue. However, adopting cloud solutions is not always an easy decision for insurers, but those that overcome security worries can reap the benefits of cloud insurance. Therefore, utilizing cloud solutions is a continuous journey that necessitates constant innovation and adaptability.

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Spotlight

Prepared Insurance Company

Prepared Insurance is a privately held Company with a highly experienced management team and Board of Directors positioned to ensure a disciplined approach to policy acquisition to result in long term stability and success in the Florida marketplace. Prepared’s executive team has over 175 years of Insurance experience, comprised of CPAs, CPCUs, industry veterans, with backgrounds in Finance, Risk Management, Marketing, Sales, Customer Service and IT, all of whom have executive/management experience with top national Property & Casualty companies and/or catastrophe modeling firms.

Related News

Life Insurance

Norwegian Insurer Gjensidige Pensjonsforsikring Goes Live with Sapiens CoreSuite for Life & Pensions

PR Newswire | January 10, 2024

Sapiens International Corporation, a leading global provider of software solutions for the insurance industry, and the leading Norwegian insurance company Gjensidige Pensjonsforsikring (GPF) today announced that GPF has gone live with Sapiens CoreSuite for Life & Pensions and Sapiens Cloud Services for their individual savings. GPF is the first Nordic customer to go-live with CoreSuite, which will expand the insurer's digital capabilities and boost its leading market position. Designed to enable greater automation and operational efficiency, Sapiens CoreSuite for Life & Pensions provides GPF with an optimised, Norwegian-tailored platform with real-time access to centrally managed data. As a single, unified system on the cloud, CoreSuite provides a cost-efficient, cloud-based IT infrastructure to streamline workflows, accelerate digital transformation and improve customer engagement. The CoreSuite solution is maintained and updated continuously by Sapiens in accordance with the latest technological and regulatory requirements. "Sapiens has now completed the initial phase of our core transformation project to CoreSuite and provided valuable support throughout the journey," said Torstein Ingebretsen, CEO of GPF. A strong core and strategy are essential to GPF's growth in Norway's rapidly changing pensions market." "We are proud to have achieved this important milestone in the Nordics with a regional leader like GPF," added Roni Al-Dor, Sapiens President and CEO. "We will continue to support GPF's journey to drive innovation and set the standard for best-in-class customer service with our transformative, future-oriented, cloud-based IT infrastructure." Sapiens CoreSuite for Life & Pensions is a software solution for end-to-end core operations and processes. An award-winning policy administration system, it supports individual and group products across life, health, wealth & retirement. Sapiens Cloud Services supports business growth with a holistic offering of value-added cloud services that provides all operations and application management services under one roof. About Gjensidige Pensjonsforsikring (GPF) Gjensidige Pensjonsforsikring (GPF) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gjensidige Forsikring. GPF mainly offers defined contribution, investment products, pension plans and risk products for groups and individuals in the Norwegian market. About Sapiens Sapiens International Corporation empowers the financial sector, with a focus on insurance, to transform and become digital, innovative and agile. With more than 40 years of industry expertise, Sapiens' cloud-based SaaS insurance platform offers pre-integrated, low-code capabilities across core, data, and digital domains to accelerate our customers' digital transformation. Serving over 600 customers in more than 30 countries, Sapiens offers insurers across property and casualty, workers' compensation, and life insurance markets the most comprehensive set of solutions, from core to complementary, including Reinsurance, Financial & Compliance, Data & Analytics, Digital, and Decision Management.

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Life Insurance

illumifin Acquires AmeriLife's Administrative Partners of America

PR Newswire | January 10, 2024

illumifin, a leading third-party insurance administration and technology provider, today announced it has acquired Administrative Partners of America (APA), the Third-Party Administrator (TPA) of AmeriLife, a national leader in developing, marketing, and distributing life and health insurance, annuities, and retirement planning solutions. As one of the largest independent marketing organizations (IMO) in the U.S., AmeriLife and APA administer approximately 230,000 policies that generate $3.1 billion of premiums in life insurance, annuities and Medicare Supplement products annually. APA employs nearly 200 associates in Clearwater, Florida, and Salt Lake City, Utah, all of whom will transition to illumifin as part of the sale. Peter Goldstein, President and Chief Executive Officer of illumifin, commented, "This is our second life and annuities acquisition that complements our existing TPA business and further transforms illumifin. We are constantly identifying new opportunities that will enhance our value proposition and make us a key strategic partner to our clients. AmeriLife has a solid platform with key client overlap that strengthens our relationships and opens the door for significant expansion opportunities. We are very excited to build a partnership with AmeriLife to help support their future growth efforts." Scott R. Perry, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AmeriLife, added, "illumifin is a great home for our TPA operations, and APA's customers will benefit greatly from access to a broad set of capabilities and scalable services across all lines of business. We're equally as excited to begin a new era of partnership with illumifin, and – together with our carrier partners – introduce new products to market, fuel our collective growth, and continue transforming our industry for years to come." illumifin was formed by Abry Partners, a leading Boston-based private equity firm, and Hoplon Capital, an asset manager focused on digital transformation and disruption. About illumifin illumifin provides third party administration and technology services to individual and group insurers. The company, launched in 2021, blends insurance industry knowledge, technology leadership and operational execution to prepare insurers for the digital future. illumifin is a diverse, passionate and empowered team of insurance specialists committed to the growth and success of its customers. With illumifin, there's a brighter future. About AmeriLife AmeriLfe's strength is its mission: to provide insurance and retirement solutions to help people live longer, healthier lives. In doing so, AmeriLife has become recognized as a leader in developing, marketing, and distributing life and health insurance, annuities, and retirement planning solutions to enhance the lives of pre-retirees and retirees across the United States. For more than 50 years, AmeriLife has partnered with top insurance carriers to provide value and quality to customers served through a distribution network of over 300,000 insurance agents and advisors and 120 marketing organizations and insurance agency locations nationwide. About Abry Partners Abry is one of the most experienced and successful sector-focused private equity investment firms in North America. Since its founding in 1989, the firm has completed over $90 billion of leveraged transactions and other private equity or preferred equity placements. Currently, the firm manages over $5 billion of capital across its active funds. About Hoplon Capital Hoplon pursues proprietary investments focused on the digital economy that are disruptive in their respective end markets including insurance, financial services, IT and consulting services, healthcare, digital infrastructure and media industries.

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Core Insurance

Inszone Insurance Bolsters Missouri Presence with DeVoy Insurance Group Acquisition

Business Wire | October 10, 2023

Inszone Insurance Services, a rapidly growing national provider of commercial, personal, and benefits insurance, announced the acquisition of DeVoy Insurance Group, a well-established insurance agency deeply rooted in the community of Brookfield, Missouri. DeVoy Insurance Group is run by Blake DeVoy, whose family has a storied history in the insurance industry dating back to the early 20th century, DeVoy Insurance Group has been a trusted name in Brookfield. The DeVoy family's dedication to serving their community has spanned generations, epitomizing their commitment to excellence. In 1910, Blake DeVoy's great-grandfather embarked on his journey by establishing the first insurance agency in Brookfield, later selling the original DeVoy & Co. to another local agency. In 1982, Blake DeVoy's father cofounded an agency, a strategic decision that laid the foundation for the family's continued legacy in the insurance business. Blake DeVoy himself entered the insurance industry in 2002 at the age of 19, building upon his early experiences working in his father's office. His diverse background, which includes roles as an underwriter and claims representative, equipped him with a unique perspective and skill set to navigate the complexities of insurance, making him a valuable resource for clients and strong leader for his team. "We're delighted to integrate the DeVoy Insurance Group into the Inszone Insurance umbrella," remarked Chris Walters, CEO of Inszone Insurance Services. "Their impressive legacy and enduring dedication to their local community mirrors our own commitment. This step enhances our position in Brookfield and expands our influence throughout the state, highlighting our unwavering promise to offer the best service to our valued clients." When asked about his decision to merge with Inszone Insurance, DeVoy pointed out the ever-evolving insurance landscape and business environment. He continued, “I recognized the changing demands of the insurance climate and wanted to ensure that my clients received the highest level of service." Clients of DeVoy Group can expect to receive the same exceptional service they are used to, now bolstered by the added resources available through the Inszone brand. Inszone Insurance is expected to announce several significant acquisitions in the upcoming months as part of its ongoing efforts to expand its footprint on a national scale. About Inszone Insurance Services Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Sacramento, California, Inszone is a full-service insurance brokerage firm that provides a broad array of property & casualty insurance and employee benefits solutions. With a strong, experienced management team, Inszone continues to grow organically and through acquisitions. With 44 locations across California, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Utah, the company is looking to expand further throughout the United States.

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Life Insurance

Norwegian Insurer Gjensidige Pensjonsforsikring Goes Live with Sapiens CoreSuite for Life & Pensions

PR Newswire | January 10, 2024

Sapiens International Corporation, a leading global provider of software solutions for the insurance industry, and the leading Norwegian insurance company Gjensidige Pensjonsforsikring (GPF) today announced that GPF has gone live with Sapiens CoreSuite for Life & Pensions and Sapiens Cloud Services for their individual savings. GPF is the first Nordic customer to go-live with CoreSuite, which will expand the insurer's digital capabilities and boost its leading market position. Designed to enable greater automation and operational efficiency, Sapiens CoreSuite for Life & Pensions provides GPF with an optimised, Norwegian-tailored platform with real-time access to centrally managed data. As a single, unified system on the cloud, CoreSuite provides a cost-efficient, cloud-based IT infrastructure to streamline workflows, accelerate digital transformation and improve customer engagement. The CoreSuite solution is maintained and updated continuously by Sapiens in accordance with the latest technological and regulatory requirements. "Sapiens has now completed the initial phase of our core transformation project to CoreSuite and provided valuable support throughout the journey," said Torstein Ingebretsen, CEO of GPF. A strong core and strategy are essential to GPF's growth in Norway's rapidly changing pensions market." "We are proud to have achieved this important milestone in the Nordics with a regional leader like GPF," added Roni Al-Dor, Sapiens President and CEO. "We will continue to support GPF's journey to drive innovation and set the standard for best-in-class customer service with our transformative, future-oriented, cloud-based IT infrastructure." Sapiens CoreSuite for Life & Pensions is a software solution for end-to-end core operations and processes. An award-winning policy administration system, it supports individual and group products across life, health, wealth & retirement. Sapiens Cloud Services supports business growth with a holistic offering of value-added cloud services that provides all operations and application management services under one roof. About Gjensidige Pensjonsforsikring (GPF) Gjensidige Pensjonsforsikring (GPF) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gjensidige Forsikring. GPF mainly offers defined contribution, investment products, pension plans and risk products for groups and individuals in the Norwegian market. About Sapiens Sapiens International Corporation empowers the financial sector, with a focus on insurance, to transform and become digital, innovative and agile. With more than 40 years of industry expertise, Sapiens' cloud-based SaaS insurance platform offers pre-integrated, low-code capabilities across core, data, and digital domains to accelerate our customers' digital transformation. Serving over 600 customers in more than 30 countries, Sapiens offers insurers across property and casualty, workers' compensation, and life insurance markets the most comprehensive set of solutions, from core to complementary, including Reinsurance, Financial & Compliance, Data & Analytics, Digital, and Decision Management.

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Life Insurance

illumifin Acquires AmeriLife's Administrative Partners of America

PR Newswire | January 10, 2024

illumifin, a leading third-party insurance administration and technology provider, today announced it has acquired Administrative Partners of America (APA), the Third-Party Administrator (TPA) of AmeriLife, a national leader in developing, marketing, and distributing life and health insurance, annuities, and retirement planning solutions. As one of the largest independent marketing organizations (IMO) in the U.S., AmeriLife and APA administer approximately 230,000 policies that generate $3.1 billion of premiums in life insurance, annuities and Medicare Supplement products annually. APA employs nearly 200 associates in Clearwater, Florida, and Salt Lake City, Utah, all of whom will transition to illumifin as part of the sale. Peter Goldstein, President and Chief Executive Officer of illumifin, commented, "This is our second life and annuities acquisition that complements our existing TPA business and further transforms illumifin. We are constantly identifying new opportunities that will enhance our value proposition and make us a key strategic partner to our clients. AmeriLife has a solid platform with key client overlap that strengthens our relationships and opens the door for significant expansion opportunities. We are very excited to build a partnership with AmeriLife to help support their future growth efforts." Scott R. Perry, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AmeriLife, added, "illumifin is a great home for our TPA operations, and APA's customers will benefit greatly from access to a broad set of capabilities and scalable services across all lines of business. We're equally as excited to begin a new era of partnership with illumifin, and – together with our carrier partners – introduce new products to market, fuel our collective growth, and continue transforming our industry for years to come." illumifin was formed by Abry Partners, a leading Boston-based private equity firm, and Hoplon Capital, an asset manager focused on digital transformation and disruption. About illumifin illumifin provides third party administration and technology services to individual and group insurers. The company, launched in 2021, blends insurance industry knowledge, technology leadership and operational execution to prepare insurers for the digital future. illumifin is a diverse, passionate and empowered team of insurance specialists committed to the growth and success of its customers. With illumifin, there's a brighter future. About AmeriLife AmeriLfe's strength is its mission: to provide insurance and retirement solutions to help people live longer, healthier lives. In doing so, AmeriLife has become recognized as a leader in developing, marketing, and distributing life and health insurance, annuities, and retirement planning solutions to enhance the lives of pre-retirees and retirees across the United States. For more than 50 years, AmeriLife has partnered with top insurance carriers to provide value and quality to customers served through a distribution network of over 300,000 insurance agents and advisors and 120 marketing organizations and insurance agency locations nationwide. About Abry Partners Abry is one of the most experienced and successful sector-focused private equity investment firms in North America. Since its founding in 1989, the firm has completed over $90 billion of leveraged transactions and other private equity or preferred equity placements. Currently, the firm manages over $5 billion of capital across its active funds. About Hoplon Capital Hoplon pursues proprietary investments focused on the digital economy that are disruptive in their respective end markets including insurance, financial services, IT and consulting services, healthcare, digital infrastructure and media industries.

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Inszone Insurance Bolsters Missouri Presence with DeVoy Insurance Group Acquisition

Business Wire | October 10, 2023

Inszone Insurance Services, a rapidly growing national provider of commercial, personal, and benefits insurance, announced the acquisition of DeVoy Insurance Group, a well-established insurance agency deeply rooted in the community of Brookfield, Missouri. DeVoy Insurance Group is run by Blake DeVoy, whose family has a storied history in the insurance industry dating back to the early 20th century, DeVoy Insurance Group has been a trusted name in Brookfield. The DeVoy family's dedication to serving their community has spanned generations, epitomizing their commitment to excellence. In 1910, Blake DeVoy's great-grandfather embarked on his journey by establishing the first insurance agency in Brookfield, later selling the original DeVoy & Co. to another local agency. In 1982, Blake DeVoy's father cofounded an agency, a strategic decision that laid the foundation for the family's continued legacy in the insurance business. Blake DeVoy himself entered the insurance industry in 2002 at the age of 19, building upon his early experiences working in his father's office. His diverse background, which includes roles as an underwriter and claims representative, equipped him with a unique perspective and skill set to navigate the complexities of insurance, making him a valuable resource for clients and strong leader for his team. "We're delighted to integrate the DeVoy Insurance Group into the Inszone Insurance umbrella," remarked Chris Walters, CEO of Inszone Insurance Services. "Their impressive legacy and enduring dedication to their local community mirrors our own commitment. This step enhances our position in Brookfield and expands our influence throughout the state, highlighting our unwavering promise to offer the best service to our valued clients." When asked about his decision to merge with Inszone Insurance, DeVoy pointed out the ever-evolving insurance landscape and business environment. He continued, “I recognized the changing demands of the insurance climate and wanted to ensure that my clients received the highest level of service." Clients of DeVoy Group can expect to receive the same exceptional service they are used to, now bolstered by the added resources available through the Inszone brand. Inszone Insurance is expected to announce several significant acquisitions in the upcoming months as part of its ongoing efforts to expand its footprint on a national scale. About Inszone Insurance Services Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Sacramento, California, Inszone is a full-service insurance brokerage firm that provides a broad array of property & casualty insurance and employee benefits solutions. With a strong, experienced management team, Inszone continues to grow organically and through acquisitions. With 44 locations across California, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Utah, the company is looking to expand further throughout the United States.

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