Wauwatosa-based insurance software-as-a-service company Zywave Inc. has acquired a data business based in New York City, its largest M&A deal ever, Zywave said Tuesday.
Founded in 2000, Advisen has offices in the U.K. and Philippines and provides data and automation for the property and casualty insurance (P&C) market. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the deal includes Web Connectivity Ltd., a workflow automation company in London that Advisen acquired in 2011.
Zywave plans to increase its market share in Europe through Advisen and has named Jon Maury vice president of international operations. Maury will lead that effort with Jeff Cohen, president of Advisen, and James Willison, managing director of Web Connectivity Ltd.
“Not only does the Advisen acquisition further broaden and deepen our product portfolio, but it also significantly bolsters our ongoing expansion into both the P&C and international markets," said Jason Liu, CEO at Zywave.
Advisen is Zywave's fourth acquisition in two years. Zywave, just two months ago, was sold by private equity firm Aurora Capital Partners to Santa Monica, California-based Clearlake Capital Group. That deal was recently finalized.
Advisen also operates a commercial insurance content platform that reaches an audience of 175,000, which Zywave said will enhance its content management system. At the end of 2019, Zywave launched a content management system that uses artificial intelligence to recommend learning material to brokers, like regulatory changes and research reports, who can use it themselves or pass along to their clients.
Zywave sells its technology to more than 6,000 insurance brokerages across the globe, including the top 100 U.S. insurance firms. Zywave specializes in front office technology, which focuses on lead generation and the digital transformation of client delivery, and offers automation technology for the insurance quoting process. Zywave sells its technology to both independent agents and insurance carriers, and payroll and human capital management companies.
“Zywave has continued to heavily invest in our operations, technology and portfolio of solutions over the past several years to bring the industry’s best tech to our partners, empowering them with the tools they need to grow their business,” Liu said. “To provide them with the best solutions in the industry, we are simultaneously investing in our existing products, while also bolstering our product portfolio with new acquisitions. At the same time, our team is continuing to improve product integration to provide seamless, end-to-end solutions for our partners, all on one platform.”
