CORE INSURANCE, RISK MANAGEMENT
Globenewswire | April 17, 2023
World Insurance Associates LLC (“World”), a Top 50 Insurance Brokerage, announced today that it acquired the business of Thomas J. Woods Insurance Agency, Inc. (“TJ Woods”) of Worcester, MA on March 1, 2023. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
TJ Woods was founded in 1949, and is a full-service, property and casualty agency, providing personal and business insurance.
“At TJ Woods, we truly care about our customers,” says Jack Woods, CPCU, President, Thomas J. Woods Insurance Agency. “Our customers always come first, and we want to help them make the best decisions regarding their insurance needs. We look forward to offering additional products and services to them now that we are part of World.”
“I’d like to welcome TJ Woods to the World family,” says Rich Eknoian, CEO and Co-Founder of World. “They are very well regarded and their commitment to their customers has earned them industry accolades. I look forward to their continued success as part of World.”
Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla provided legal counsel and Optis Partners advised World on the transaction. Ross Law Offices provided legal counsel to TJ Woods. No other advisors, diligence firms or legal counsel were disclosed.
About World Insurance Associates LLC
World Insurance Associates LLC (World) is headquartered in Iselin, N.J., and is a nationally ranked, full-service insurance organization providing individuals and businesses with top products and services across personal and commercial insurance, employee and executive benefits, retirement and financial services and human capital management solutions. Since its founding in 2011, World has completed over 190 acquisitions and serves its customers from more than 250 offices across the United States. World is ranked #34 on the 100 Largest Brokers of U.S. Business list by Business Insurance, ranked #3 on the Fastest Growing Brokers list by Business Insurance, ranked #3 on the Fastest Growing Benefits Brokers list by Business Insurance, ranked #24 on the Top 100 P&C Agencies by Insurance Journal, and ranked #20 on the Top 50 Personal Lines Agencies by Insurance Journal. For more information, please visit www.worldinsurance.com.
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CLAIMS, COMPLIANCE
Businesswire | May 05, 2023
Recuro Health (Recuro), an integrated digital health solutions company designed to transition the U.S. healthcare system from a reactive, disease-focused model to a proactive care approach, today announces a partnership with Ease, the number one rated benefits administration and human resource (HR) software company powered by insurance brokers to manage benefits and HR for 3.4 million+ employees. Recuro will provide access to its Digital Medical Home, which includes diagnostic-enabled Virtual Primary Care (VPC) and Virtual Behavioral Health (VBH) solutions that are tailored to fit the healthcare needs of any population. The Digital Medical Home care model integrates advanced science, data, at-home diagnostics and targeted genomics – cancer screening, pharmacogenomics – to better inform integrated care.
Michael Gorton, CEO and founder, Recuro Health, says, “Our virtual care solutions continue to transform traditional healthcare to a holistic system that is digitally integrated, patient-centric and focused on personalized and preventative health and wellness. We are seeing more focus on a virtual-first approach to address significant healthcare challenges while also driving value throughout the healthcare ecosystem. By helping brokers in the Ease platform to support their clients by virtually connecting members with primary care doctors and behavioral health clinicians, Recuro is proving to be a meaningful solution for health plan sponsors to positively impact the triad of cost, quality and access to care.”
Recuro delivers solutions that help brokers and other intermediaries achieve their goals in serving plan administrators, employers and employees. The objective is to get members who are covered by plan-sponsored benefits to make better healthcare decisions, participate at a lower cost strategy and take advantage of opportunities to treat chronic disease more proactively.
David Reid, co-founder, Ease, says, "We're thrilled to partner with Recuro Health to offer these virtual first solutions on the Ease platform. We recognize that employers want to provide digital health solutions to current and prospective employees, and we’re proud to make this valuable new benefit available to insurance brokers so they can bring even more value to their clients.”
About Recuro Health
Recuro is an integrated digital health solutions company with a uniquely personalized, proactive approach to virtual health. Recuro’s Digital Medical Home enables easy connectivity to virtual care, including primary and urgent care, behavioral health, at-home lab testing, genomics testing, as well as a suite of supplemental benefits spanning pharmacy, care management and care navigation all on one platform. To learn more visit www.recurohealth.com.
About Ease
Ease is the #1 rated benefits administration and HR software for businesses with 2-250 employees, powered by insurance brokers. More than 2,300 agencies trust Ease to help them and their clients grow. Over 85,000 businesses trust Ease to manage benefits & HR for 3.4 million+ employees. Visit ease.com for more.
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LIFE INSURANCE, INSURANCE TECHNOLOGY
PRnewswire | April 18, 2023
YuLife, the tech-driven financial services provider on a mission to inspire life, today announced its launch in South Africa. Founded in London in 2016, YuLife achieved rapid traction in the UK insurance market through its flagship product, group life insurance. The company's expansion into South Africa marks a significant milestone as it seeks to redefine how people around the world derive value from financial products.
YuLife's Group Risk Protection (Life, Income Protection, Lump Sum Disability, and Funeral Cover) includes everything in a traditional group insurance policy – but also adds a globally award-winning wellbeing app and trusted support services. YuLife harnesses the latest trends in behavioral science and game mechanics to encourage employees to make proactive lifestyle changes, while also prioritising prevention by de-risking individuals through healthy activities.
Gamification ensures that YuLife attracts unrivaled levels of engagement which is valued and enjoyed by all employees. The YuLife app enables employees to complete everyday wellness activities, such as walking, meditation, and cycling, in order to earn YuCoin, YuLife's virtual well-being currency. Members can then use their YuCoin to buy vouchers for groceries, data, fuel, clothing and more from leading brands, or to improve the world through donating meals, planting trees, or cleaning the ocean. By incentivising healthy living, YuLife provides employers with a way to simultaneously boost retention rates, improve employees' standard of living, and safeguard their loved ones' financial future.
In addition to day-to-day wellbeing, YuLife provides critical wellbeing tools and services to further prevent illness, both mentally and physically. All employees with YuLife get access to a virtual GP service through Kena Health, counseling and advice through ICAS, alongside access to multiple wellbeing apps like Meditopia and Fiit.
"South Africa has the second highest insurance penetration globally, making it a perfect market for YuLife to expand into and showcase its innovative approach to insurance," said Jaco Oosthuizen, YuLife Co-founder and Managing Director of YuLife South Africa. "There has been a big shift toward health and wellbeing in the workplace, with more and more companies adding new initiatives and resources to their employee benefits packages. YuLife is launching in South Africa to offer companies an easy way to provide extra protection – we're looking forward to providing South African businesses and employees tangible value on an everyday basis in an accessible, engaging, and deliverable manner."
YuLife South Africa's policies are underwritten by Guardrisk Life, SA's largest life cell captive insurer and the market leader in tailored risk solutions. "We are excited to be working together with YuLife to bring cost-effective insurance solutions to customers in South Africa," said Herman Schoeman, CEO, Guardrisk Life. "As a company rooted in innovation, partnering with such a forward-thinking company like YuLife that shares our commitment to meeting customers' needs makes good business sense. We look forward to developing our relationship with YuLife and providing our solutions to its customers while also empowering them to have a more thorough and holistic relationship with their life insurance and protection provider."
YuLife has achieved rapid traction in an industry traditionally lacking in innovation. The company recently expanded into the US, and now covers >600k group policyholders across small to large businesses, with over $50bn of coverage in place. YuLife has seen more than 5x growth in premiums year-on-year, and in July 2022 raised a $120M Series C led by Dai-ichi Life with participation from T. Rowe Price, bringing the company's total funding to $206M.
About YuLife
YuLife is a tech-driven financial services provider on a mission to inspire life and turn financial products into a force for good. By harnessing the power of technology and the latest behavioural science, YuLife's insurance model focuses on risk prevention, not just claims compensation. The company is transforming the employee benefits market by rewarding employees for healthy living, supporting mental, physical and financial wellbeing and helping foster healthier, happier and more motivated teams. Founded in 2016, YuLife is headquartered in London and backed by global insurers and venture capital. https://www.YuLife.com/
About Guardrisk
Guardrisk is South Africa's largest cell captive insurer. We pioneered the cell captive concept in 1993 and provide tailor-made risk financing and insurance solutions for corporates, small enterprises and municipalities. The option of a third-party insurance offering lets clients sell insurance cover to their customers, boosting their business' earning potential and building their brand. Essentially, a cell captive facility gives clients all the benefits of owning their own insurance company without the inherent cost and administrative implications. Cell captives provide underwriting, reinsurance, claims management, investment, actuarial and accounting functions for clients (cell owners), which keeps costs down and gives clients access to a broad base of insurance skills. Guardrisk is a subsidiary of Momentum Metropolitan Holdings Limited, one of SA's largest insurance-based financial services groups. The company is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa and on the Namibian Stock Exchange in Namibia.
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