Western & Southern Financial Group isn't slowing down on investing in startups.
This week, New York City-based Afficiency announced a $7 million Series A funding round, with the Cincinnati financial powerhouse among the investors. Officials declined to disclose Western & Southern's total investment.
Afficiency, like Western & Southern's recent investments, is an insurtech, meaning a startup that uses technology to streamline the insurance industry.
Founded in 2017, Afficiency simplifies the distribution of life insurance products for both carriers and distributors. The company has raised $10.2 million to date, with IA Capital Group, Impression Ventures and the Savings Bank Mutual Life Insurance Co. of Massachusetts among its other investors.
“At Afficiency, we’re on a mission to provide the sellers of life insurance more relevant products and an easier purchasing experience for their clients, and we’re passionate about overhauling the outdated life insurance buying process,” Mark Scafaro, CEO and co-founder, said in a statement. “This funding round will support us as we expand our partnership network, launch several new products and grow our team with the next generation of insurtech talent.”
In January, Western & Southern announced its acquisition of New York-based Fabric, a digital life insurance platform and mobile app. At the time, CEO John Barrett said such deals were only the beginning, with the firm eager to have a larger slice of the digital space.
And a month later, the company invested an undisclosed amount in Silicon Valley-based startup Micruity, streamlines access to protected retirement income, such as annuities, through its single-point platform.
Western & Southern is one of the primary backers of FinTech Frontier, an effort to turn Cincinnati into a hub for financial technology companies.
