LIFE INSURANCE
Integrity Marketing | March 07, 2022
Integrity Marketing Group, LLC ("Integrity"), an omnichannel insurtech leader in life, health and wealth solutions, today announced it has acquired Carothers Insurance Agency, a leading independent marketing organization ("IMO") based in Las Vegas, Nevada. As part of the acquisition, Chris Carothers, President of Carothers Insurance Agency, will become a Managing Partner in Integrity. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
It's so meaningful to partner with a company with the longevity of Carothers Insurance Agency, which has been making a difference in its community for half a century, Chris and his team focus on fostering personal interactions with every one of their customers. They have been incredibly proactive in the insurance community and bring a strong reputation for hard work. Carothers Insurance Agency can help us make our vision of innovating insurance a reality — all while utilizing Integrity's industry-leading technology and resources to fuel their growth. They have a rich legacy in Las Vegas, and we can't wait to extend that legacy another 50 years and beyond."
Bryan W. Adams, Co-Founder and CEO of Integrity.
Founder Michael D. Carothers opened Carothers Insurance Agency in 1969, offering health and life insurance products to seniors in the Las Vegas market. His son, Chris Carothers, joined the team more than 30 years ago and has continued to build on his father's deep personal commitment to love and serve, while establishing a strong national presence. Under Chris's direction, the agency provides incomparable industry knowledge, resources and training to help their brokers succeed. Additionally, the business has expanded to include Your Insurance Agency centers — retail locations where brokers can interact face-to-face with clients, matching Integrity's focus on meeting clients where they are. Chris has also led Carothers Insurance Agency toward regional and national positions of industry leadership.
Our agents and employees love to serve — whether it's our community, our industry organizations or our clients — and we feel like extended family with the people we serve, We've already built a time-honored company. What we needed was a partner who matched our commitment to service and could provide the rocket fuel for thoughtful expansion. Integrity offers our brokers innovative thinking and systems to help them succeed while staying ahead of changes in the industry. We're proud of our past and, as an Integrity partner, we have the world-class resources we need to look to the future with excitement."
Chris Carothers, President of Carothers Insurance Agency.
Integrity's partnership platform is designed to help successful companies like Carothers Insurance Agency reach their full potential. Integrity's infrastructure of business services, including finance, Technology & Innovation, People & Culture, legal and compliance, ensure partners are focused more on agents and consumers rather than on administration and back-office tasks. As an insurtech leader, Integrity offers robust technology-driven solutions for all stakeholders, encompassing data and analytics, proprietary customer relationship management systems, and quoting and enrollment solutions, as well as access to a industry-expert advertising and marketing firm.
To offer perspective and refine best practices, innovators and legends collaborate through Integrity's fast-growing partner network. These leading companies develop and optimize insurance and financial systems and help American consumers prepare for the good days ahead by offering life, health and wealth solutions.
out Integrity Marketing Group
Integrity, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is an omnichannel insurtech leader of life and health insurance, and provider of innovative solutions for wealth management and retirement planning. Through its partner network, Integrity helps millions of Americans protect their life, health and wealth with a commitment to meet them wherever they are — in person, over the phone and online. Integrity's cutting-edge technology helps streamline the insurance and financial planning experience for all stakeholders. In addition, Integrity develops products with carrier partners and markets them through its distribution network of agencies, brokerages and RIAs throughout the nation. Integrity's nearly 5,500 employees work with more than 420,000 agents and advisors who serve over 10 million clients annually. In 2021, Integrity helped carriers place more than $7 billion in new sales and oversaw more than $20 billion of assets under management and advisement through its RIA and broker-dealer platforms.
Read More
INSURANCE TECHNOLOGY
Synchrono Group, CodeEast Digital | December 16, 2020
Synchrono Group Inc. an Insurtech Managing Underwriter having some expertise in 'Property/Casualty and Workers Compensation for the Gig Economy' and 'Small Commercial Insurance Risks' has collaborated with CodeEast and will utilize their Digital Platform for the organization of Commercial Property/Casualty insurance items across the USA.
Steve Hartman, Chairman and CEO of Synchrono Group, says "As an Insuretech Managing Underwriter which leverages data and technology to deliver custom insurance products, we need systems that are fast, flexible, and capable of integrating seamlessly around micro-services. Getting the right tech partner and software platform in place for our products is a key element of this plan. We chose CodeEast's ONEview Digital Insurance Platform because it provides us with the flexibility, the self-service facilities for Policyholders, Agents and Brokers, the delivery speed and the automation capability we require to deliver our strategy. For our first product in this environment, we went live with ONEview in less than three months and in the middle of a Pandemic! The system has the state-of-the-art capabilities required to seamlessly integrate through REST API's with our proprietary technology stack, including our user interface, our underwriting algorithms and our API data engine and predictive tools. These integrations allow us to offer a market-leading response time that effectively positions us with the capability to underwrite, quote, bind and issue policies in a matter of minutes rather than the hours and days common to most of our competitors."
"Time is money for us, and our Agents, Brokers and small business customers. The ability to get the insurance underwritten and issued in a matter of minutes frees up, for all of our stakeholder's, additional time to focus on revenue creation for their businesses. The Digital Capabilities embedded in the ONEview platform enable this transformation and, increasingly, these Digital Capabilities are becoming the new normal. The ONEview system Digital Capability enables both a fast customer experience and full scalable digital integration for both admitted and non-admitted insurance," stated Steve Hartman.
Aidan Brogan, CCO of CodeEast, said "We are excited to sign a five-year partnership with SynchronoSure®. The selection of our ONEview system is a strong validation of the flexibility and agility of our cloud-native platform, and with its inherent capabilities for Producer Management, Environment Control, Data Use, and the ability to support regulatory regimes in all states for commercial insurance, we think ONEview creates sustainable advantages for our customers. The digital transformation of the insurance industry is starting to gain momentum and will accelerate at pace. I look forward to growing our business in the USA".
About SynchronoSure®
Synchrono Group Inc doing business as SynchronoSure® is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. As an Insurtech Managing Underwriter, SynchronoSure® built to leverage artificial intelligence and a state-of-the-art technology base, SynchronoSure® specializes in underwriting property/casualty, and workers compensation products for the gig economy and small businesses in the U.S.
About CodeEast
CodeEast, a software company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, provides a Digital Insurance Platform for the SMART Automation of Insurance companies. The CodeEast ONEview platform is a state-of-the-art, AI-enabled, cloud-native solution for the automated sales, distribution and administration of insurance products.
Read More
LIFE INSURANCE
American Financial Group, Inc. MassMutual | May 31, 2021
Massachusetts Mutual life insurance Company announced today the completion of the previously announced acquisition of American Financial Group, Inc.’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Great American life insurance company, and other subsidiaries and affiliated entities, for a purchase price of approximately $3.5 billion.
“We are excited to welcome Great American Life to MassMutual and to assist build on its outstanding leadership position in the annuity market,” said Roger Crandall, Chairman, President, and CEO, MassMutual. “This acquisition immediately broadens our product offerings, further diversifies our distribution capabilities and generates additional earnings – enabling us to assist even more people in securing their future and protecting the ones they love.”
The acquisition includes Great American Life and its two insurance subsidiaries, Annuity Investors life insurance Company and Manhattan National life insurance Company, as well as a broker-dealer affiliate, Great American Advisors, Inc., an insurance distributor, AAG Insurance Agency, Inc. With the completion of this acquisition, MassMutual, is among the top five individual annuity writers in the U.S.1.
Great American Life will operate as an independent subsidiary of MassMutual led by its current president, Mark Muething, who will report to Mike Fanning, head of MassMutual U.S. Its more than 600 employees will continue to support the business and remain headquartered in Cincinnati.
“Today marks a new beginning for great American Life as we join MassMutual to make an even greater impact serving the millions of Americans who need our help in building financial security,” said Mark Muething, President and Chief Operating Officer of Great American Life. “This transaction strengthens our position as a leading U.S. annuity company, enhances our ability to deliver compelling solutions for our policyholders and distribution partners, and positions us for future growth with a company that’s committed to our success.”
Fanning, who will oversee the great American Life business, added, “Our goal is to ensure a seamless transition for great American Life’s employees, clients, and partners. we look forward to working together with Great American Life to reach more customers in need of lifetime income solutions and deliver ongoing value to our policy owners and customers.”
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP served as legal counsel to MassMutual. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, and Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL served as legal counsel to AFG.
About MassMutual
MassMutual is a leading mutual life insurance company that benefits its members and participating policy owners. Founded in 1851, the company has been continually guided by one consistent purpose: we help people secure their future and protect their loved ones. With a focus on delivering long-term value, MassMutual offers a wide range of protection, accumulation, wealth management, and retirement products and services. For more information, visit massmutual.com.
About American Financial Group, Inc.
American Financial Group is an insurance company based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through Great American Insurance Group operations, AFG is engaged primarily in property and casualty insurance, focusing on specialized commercial products for businesses. Great American Insurance Group’s roots go back to 1872 with the founding of its flagship company, Great American insurance company.
Read More