With a new acquisition, a Dallas startup is planning to take its services nationwide.
Digital life insurance platform Bestow announced entering into a definitive agreement to acquire Centurion Life Insurance Company from Wells Fargo.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, according to Barron’s, the deal requires Bestow to purchase Centurion’s book of runoff fixed-annuity policies. Pending regulatory approval, it is expected to close next month.
“We have a bold mission at Bestow to make life insurance accessible to everyone, and the Centurion acquisition underscores our commitment to bringing that vision to life,” said Melbourne O'Banion, co-founder and CEO of Bestow, in a statement.
Bestow was founded in 2016 by O’Banion and Jonathan Abelmann, who also serves as the company’s president, and provides fully-online term life insurance options without medical exams. The startup landed its $2.5 million Seed round in 2017 and has about 120 employees.
The company currently operates as a licensed life insurance carrier in Texas, as well as an agent and third-party administrator of life insurance policies through North American Co. for Life and Health Insurance.
The acquisition of Centurion will allow Bestow to become a carrier in 47 other states, as well as the District of Columbia, a rapid acceleration of growth plans the company previously had to expand state-by-state.
The move comes as the company has been seeing overall growth. Since the beginning of the year, Bestow has added about 60 people to its team. In April, it landed a $50 million Series B led by Valar Ventures, bringing its total funding to about $67.5 million, according to Crunchbase. With that funding round, the company launched The Bestow Foundation, a financial support nonprofit. And Bestow has seen sales jump 450% from January through October.
“With Bestow's focus on expanding eligibility and access, we've known since the start that becoming a carrier would be a necessary part of our growth strategy. We're thrilled to build on our momentum with this acquisition to enable more customers to get the life insurance they need,” O’Banion said.
