Core Insurance
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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Risk Management
Augment Risk | December 04, 2023
Augment Risk, the pioneering new reinsurance brokerage firm, today announced the arrival of Andrew Matson as Chief Executive Officer. Matson will build on Augment Risk’s significant traction, having already bound $1 billion of premium in its first year of business. Augment Risk’s initial success is a testament to the firm’s transformative ‘Client, not class of business’ approach that protects and grows client equity value.
“Augment Risk was founded to address a fundamental structural problem in the insurance and reinsurance markets. We champion the need for a shift from outdated practices of ‘products sold at prices’ to better cater to our clients’ needs,” Matson said. “I am thrilled to work with some of the most exceptional talent in the industry. We believe we can transform reinsurance broking for the better by focusing on our client’s entire business, creating partnerships with reinsurers, and enhancing equity value by better managing capital, reducing earnings volatility, and expanding the margins of our clients. Our approach has never been done at this scale.”
The reinsurance industry has remained unchanged for generations. But with the advent of an increased interest rate environment, the rise in loss cost through inflation, and challenges mounting from natural catastrophes, the need to manage capital more efficiently has never been more important. Augment Risk has implemented a numerical approach to help clients better utilize their capital to maintain or improve their financial strength while achieving their business goals.
At the heart of Augment Risk’s approach is a relentless focus on the client’s balance sheet, where capital has been blocked from being put to its best use due to operational complexity, vertical barriers, and mismanagement of risks. Augment Risk unlocks this opportunity by managing volatility through tailored solutions that are meticulously crafted to optimize enterprise value and are agnostic toward all forms of capital—a key differentiation from the conventional one-size-fits-all approach.
Matson’s deep experience and understanding of the challenges facing reinsurers’ businesses are key to executing the vision of Augment Risk’s groundbreaking broker model. His accomplishments in the industry have spanned the globe and brought billions of dollars of premium to the global reinsurance market.
“Andrew has the experience and conviction to lead Augment Risk’s next chapter of growth, and we are pleased to welcome him as CEO,” said Sam Gaynor, Managing Director, Altamont Capital Partners, which announced $100 million in funding for Augment Risk earlier this year. “Augment Risk addresses a clear market need to help global customers manage complex risk capital challenges based on efficiency, with a model poised to transform the reinsurance industry.”
“Augment Risk provides the depth and breadth of expertise to ensure leaders of global companies have the capital, tools, and strategic insights necessary to thrive in a complex, often volatile environment; a one-size-fits-all approach to reinsurance doesn’t work and isn’t always in the best interest of their businesses,” said Keoni Schwartz, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Altamont Capital Partners. “This puts Augment Risk in a completely different category of reinsurance, building a new market in the industry to deliver better outcomes for these businesses.”
About Augment Risk
Augment Risk is a risk capital and reinsurance solutions broker, focused on designing and placing bespoke protections for a variety of clients. With a wide range of solutions, Augment creates growth and equity value through tailored transactions to deliver long-term capital and partnerships. Augment Risk’s expertise extends beyond (re)insurance, allowing the company to disrupt the value chain and build creative, value-accretive solutions for individual client needs.
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Core Insurance
GlobeNewswire | September 26, 2023
Applied Systems® today announced that Fisher Brown Bottrell Insurance, Inc. has selected Applied Pay to make their business units more efficient across all workflows and simplify the payment process for their customers. The agency is taking advantage of Applied Pay’s integration with Applied Epic to automate payment collection, processing, and reconciliation, while providing an effortless, modern checkout experience that internet-savvy clients have come to expect.
“We’ve used other payment solutions in the past but didn’t get the buy-in we expected because the process was too cumbersome for our customers,” said Tiffany Johnston, Senior Vice President, Technology Operations Manager, Fisher Brown Bottrell Insurance, Inc. “We’ve been long-time customers of Applied, so migrating to Applied Pay was the obvious choice. Not only do we get that ease of client payment through a link, but our accounting staff can streamline their back-end processes, a benefit that really made Applied Pay stand out.”
Applied Pay is a cloud-based electronic payments hub that enables agents and brokers to provide their clients with a secure, online way to pay new and recurring premiums. Directly integrated into Applied Epic®, Applied CSR24® and EZLynx Client Center, Applied Pay provides intuitive, branded checkout pages where policyholders can pay premiums via credit card or ACH. It automatically handles payment authorization and tokenizes sensitive information to increase security and ensure compliance. The solution also reconciles receivables at the account level, reducing manual workflows and improving the accuracy and timeliness needed to reconcile payments.
“In today’s e-commerce climate, consumers can make a purchase with just the click of a button, and paying for an insurance premium shouldn’t be any different,” said Chase Petrey, president of Applied Pay, Applied Systems. “It’s always a win-win when one solution can simplify processes for both customers and staff at once, something Applied Pay will allow Fisher Brown Bottrell Insurance, Inc. to do by offering their customers an intuitive payment hub that models the modern online shopping cart experience while providing a speedy and secure reconciliation process for their accounting staff.”
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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