CORE INSURANCE, INSURANCE TECHNOLOGY
PRnewswire | May 10, 2023
Confie, the largest personal lines insurance distribution company in the U.S., announces the acquisition of Estrella Insurance to its non-standard national brand Freeway Insurance. Confie's latest acquisition significantly expands its footprint in Florida and their franchise division.
Estrella Insurance operates more than 190 locations across Florida, California, Arizona, Texas, and Colorado. For over 40 years, they have provided affordable insurance solutions and exceptional service to their customers. Their product portfolio includes auto, home, commercial, business, life, and health. Estrella will continue to operate under its current brand, and Confie will retain all current employees with their acquisition.
"Estrella has built a strong franchising model well-known among Hispanic consumers, and business owners alike. We are excited to welcome them into our ever-growing family," said Cesar Soriano, Confie CEO. "Franchising allows us to broaden our customer reach, and accelerate our growth into new markets. Americans are entrepreneurial by nature and we proudly will offer them the choice between three trustworthy brands."
In 2022, Freeway Insurance introduced franchising opportunities to entrepreneurs. With more than 530 retail stores nationwide, business owners get access to the company's established business model, respected brand, a wide range of national and regional insurance carriers, and back-office resources. Shortly after, Confie acquired Velox Insurance in December 2021. Velox primarily offers franchising to business owners in the Georgia market.
"Our franchise partners are family, and their success is our success. It was important to find the right partner that would support both our brand, customers, and our growth plan," said Nick Estrella Jr., Estrella's CEO. "Confie is a highly respected organization with years of industry knowledge and forward momentum. It was a perfect fit for Estrella."
In addition to its acquisitions, Confie recently announced the expansion of its business process outsourcing division (BPO) with the launch of a new service center in Tijuana, being ranked #1 Personal Lines Leader by Insurance Journal for a seventh straight year and the expansion of their InsureOne brand by way of an agency network for independent insurance agents.
"Confie's expansion plans rely on strategic acquisitions and we welcome that challenge," said Chad Maxwell, SVP, mergers & acquisitions, Confie. "Identifying places where we can strengthen our presence helps us accomplish growth and development, and we are actively seeking great partners to join the Confie family."
About Confie
Established in 2008, Confie is the nation's leading personal lines insurance distribution company. Today, Confie meets customers wherever they are – with more than 750+ retail locations in 23 states, the Bluefire general agency, and a telephone and online shared service center servicing all 50 states. With flexible insurance options, outstanding value, and convenient service, Confie's aspiration is to be the most trusted source of insurance solutions so our customers can have peace of mind. Confie is a portfolio company of Alliant. For more information about Confie, visit www.confie.com.
About Freeway Insurance
Established in 1987, Freeway offers insurance policies via a "click, call, or come-in" approach that provides customers coverage throughout the United States. The company is constantly researching, growing and diversifying product offerings to stay responsive to the ever-evolving insurance market. Freeway offers a wide range of plans, from the most basic to premium plans, in auto, truck, commercial vehicle, fire, flood, homeowners, renters, small commercial, motorcycle, and recreational vehicle insurance products. In 2008, Freeway Insurance joined Confie, the leading national personal lines insurance distribution company. Today, Freeway Insurance services customers in more than 500 offices. Freeway consumers access Freeway Insurance through neighborhood Freeway offices, as well as by visiting www.freewayinsurance.com or by calling (800) 777-5620.
About Estrella Insurance
Miami-based Estrella Insurance is a property and casualty insurance franchisor and a trusted leader among consumers and insurance companies by providing simple, cost-effective insurance solutions across its auto, home, commercial, business, life, and health insurance portfolios. With more than 190 offices across the U.S., it is consistently ranked as a top franchise opportunity with a proven business model that allows owners to focus directly on customer support and community engagement. For more information about Estrella Insurance, visit www.estrellainsurance.com.
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CORE INSURANCE, INSURANCE TECHNOLOGY
Globenewswire | May 22, 2023
Applied Systems® today announced that VP Custom Insurance Solutions has selected Applied Digital Agency to digitally transform their business and customer service models. The agency will leverage Applied Digital Agency to connect the digital roundtrip of insurance and automate day to day operations to increase staff productivity and enable their ambitious growth agenda beyond California.
“As a woman-owned business in a male-dominated field, we’re excited to make a name for ourselves with our forward-thinking approach,” said Ashlynne Vega, Co-Owner, VP Custom Insurance Solutions. “The insurance industry continues to become more tech-focused, so agencies need to keep up or risk getting left behind. Partnering with Applied will elevate our agency and help us stay ahead of the curve.”
Applied’s Digital Agency solution consists of a foundational management system, online customer self-service and mobile technology, commercial lines application digitization and automation, and insurer connectivity, all hosted in the cloud. The fully integrated solution enables agencies to create higher-value business transactions and deliver superior customer experiences throughout the entire insurance lifecycle. By leveraging integrated applications that enable agencies to manage their entire business and eliminate duplicative work typically caused by multiple, disparate systems, digital agencies operate more efficiently, improve customer service, and accelerate growth and profitability across all lines of business.
“Growth-minded agencies are smartly turning to technology more and more to modernize their sales and marketing efforts while automating low value tasks,” said Anupam Gupta, Chief Product Officer, Applied Systems. “Applied’s Digital Agency software will enable VP Custom Insurance Solutions to simply their staff’s daily tasks and make the customer lifecycle – from prospecting to quote, bind, service, and renewals – more modern at each touchpoint.”
About Applied Systems
Applied Systems is the leading global provider of cloud-based software that powers the business of insurance. Recognized as a pioneer in insurance automation and the innovation leader, Applied is the world’s largest provider of agency and brokerage management systems, serving customers throughout the United States, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. By automating the insurance lifecycle, Applied’s people and products enable millions of people around the world to safeguard and protect what matters most.
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LIFE INSURANCE, HEALTH INSURANCE
PRnewswire | April 04, 2023
Sproutt, the life insurance company that modernizes life insurance for agencies, agents, and their customers, today announced the launch of Sproutt SmartLife for Agencies and the acquisition of The Reder Agency, a full-service life insurance brokerage specializing in the traditional and senior markets. SmartLife for Agencies brings to market an AI-assisted first-of-its-kind platform for all aspects of agency business, while the acquisition of The Reder Agency will add over 400 agents nationwide to Sproutt's growing network of producers as part of its evolution toward becoming a full-service distribution ecosystem. The Reder Agency's principal owner, Ben Reder, will join Sproutt as the Senior Vice President of Distribution.
The acquisition of The Reder Agency greatly expands the adoption of Sproutt's SmartLife platform by introducing it to hundreds of experienced life insurance producers, cementing the company's evolved mission of serving as the digital home for the roughly 1.2 million insurance professionals in the U.S. With a shared vision to innovate and scale the insurance sales process, the Reder Agency acquisition enables Sproutt to accelerate growth and offer increased value to life insurance producers.
Sproutt's SmartLife platform allows agents, via the Agent Portal, to make real time decisions to effectively serve the needs of their clients. Within minutes, agents can offer tailored life insurance solutions with top rated carriers and a full spectrum of proprietary products, from term to whole life, with greater ease, speed, and efficiency.
"We are excited to announce our new offering for agencies, which supercharges organizations with the necessary AI tools and products to maximize their distribution, as well as the acquisition of The Reder Agency, which adds hundreds of proven life insurance producers onto the Sproutt platform. I am thrilled to have Ben joining the Sproutt team, as we share the belief that this acquisition will be a major step in Sproutt's commitment to be the platform of choice for insurance producers and brokers across the country" said Yoav Shaham, CEO and Co-Founder. "Within this data-driven industry, which evaluates risk based on consumer data, our unique contribution is that our platform leverages AI to maximize agent production, reduce friction in the sales journey and modernize traditional insurance processes for carriers" explains Shaham.
For Ben Reder, an insurance industry veteran and owner of The Reder Agency for over a decade, this move will allow him to have a bigger impact on the life insurance agents and agencies that he is currently working with, as well as provide incredible value for future partnerships. As Senior Vice President of Distribution, he will continue his focus on providing top tier services and support, while benefiting from the technology and resources that Sproutt provides. "Insurance distribution is moving towards a unified digital experience, for both the client and the agent. Being able to partner with Sproutt and bring our decade-plus of traditional brokerage distribution expertise to a fully digital platform represents an opportunity to merge best-in-class technology with award-winning production," said Reder.
About Sproutt
Sproutt is a life insurance company that modernizes life insurance distribution for agencies, agents, and their customers. Leveraging data and AI, the Sproutt SmartLife platform is set to reshape Life insurance distribution. The platform empowers insurance producers to efficiently assess risk, tailor policies, and enhance customer experience in the most effective and scalable way. Sproutt sells its policies through agents and brokers via its SmartLife for Agents and Agencies. Backed by State of Mind Ventures, Moneta VC, FinTLV, Guardian Life, MS&AD Ventures, MoreTech Ventures, Harel Group, Menora Mivtachim, Raptor Group, and Falcon Edge Capital, Sproutt's business operations are based in New York with an R&D center in Tel Aviv.
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