CoverHound operates an insurance marketplace, allowing consumers and businesses to compare and purchase insurance, including home, business, auto, and life policies. CyberPolicy likewise operates a marketplace, but focuses on cyber insurance for small businesses. CoverHound and CyberPolicy will continue to operate independently under Brown & Brown and will focus on scaling digital partnerships.
The acquisition complements Brown & Brown's existing business, and helps it compete in the digital era. The broker sees CoverHound as an "important expansion into the digital insurance marketplace while at the same time helping [Brown & Brown's] traditional businesses to continually deliver an exceptional customer experience," said senior vice president of technology, innovation, and digital strategy Steve Boyd.
With the purchase, the brokerage gets access to capabilities that modernize the insurance purchasing experience: CoverHound and CyberPolicy have significantly increased the number of policies sold entirely online in the past decade, according to the press release, and developed the capability to digitally quote and bind multiple carriers and products into a single online transaction.
Insurtech M&A has been on the rise, as insurers play catch-up with other financial services industries in terms of digital transformation. Insurtech M&A volume Q3 also saw triple the number of deals versus Q2. Notable deals in 2020 so far include Bold Penguin purchasing RiskGenius in