Western & Southern Financial Group announced Jan. 12 it has acquired Fabric Technologies and its subsidiary, Fabric Insurance Agency LLC, which provide a digital life insurance platform and mobile app that the companies say is “serving over 60,000 families and has placed billions of dollars in life insurance coverage.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. In a statement, W&S said it and Fabric “share a vision of offering the mass market easy-to-use digital solutions to purchase insurance and other financial services.”
The deal brings a fully automated and customer-friendly digital platform developed by Fabric, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Brooklyn, N.Y., to a Cincinnati-based company that began selling life insurance door-to-door 134 years ago as The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company.
“We are delighted to welcome Fabric to our diversified family of financial services businesses,” said John F. Barrett, chairman, president and CEO of Western & Southern Financial Group. “This highly innovative company and its entrepreneurial spirit are an excellent fit for Western & Southern, which has always been dedicated to offering tailored and straightforward financial solutions for our clients. Together, we continue our common mission of providing financial security to the middle market using a unique, fully-digital experience.”
“By joining forces with Western & Southern, we are able to accelerate our mission to protect millions of families with modern and affordable financial security products,” said Adam Erlebacher, co-founder and CEO of Fabric. “We are thrilled to combine our fully digital one-stop shop offering with the financial strength and stability that Western & Southern has delivered to its customers for over 100 years.”
Steven Surgnier, co-founder and chief technology officer of Fabric, added that “I’m inspired by the Fabric team’s use of new technologies to solve meaningful problems, and I’m excited for us to continue building as a part of Western & Southern. The support of Western & Southern will fuel our continued investment in creating innovative products that customers love.”
Through its secure digital platform and mobile app, Fabric offers affordable term life insurance, a free last will and testament, tools to organize family finances, and—in partnership with other providers—additional solutions such as college savings plans. The life insurance application takes about 10 minutes to complete, with immediate approval for qualified applicants through Fabric’s digital underwriting process.
Accidental death policies and term life insurance policies are issued by Vantis Life Insurance Company, Windsor Conn. (all states except N.Y.). Fabric Insurance Agency LLC is an insurance agency licensed to sell life and accident insurance products.
For Western & Southern, the move is an opportunity to accelerate a digital strategy aimed at providing financial wellness for families with a suite of simplified solutions delivered through “a superior customer experience,” the statement said. A cornerstone of that strategy was the 2018 acquisition of Gerber Life Insurance, a leading direct-to-consumer life insurer.
Western & Southern said it plans to leverage its capital strength and the iconic Gerber Life brand to make a multiyear investment in Fabric’s digital platform and team, providing the resources necessary to maximize the platform’s value to current and prospective customers.
That’s the direction the insurance industry has been going the past 15 to 20 years. There are people who don’t want to do this type of very important business over their smart phone/laptop/PC, they will want to do this in-person with an agent they trust.
Yet, it still doesn’t change the overall trajectory of how business (not just insurance, but essentially everything) is being conducted.
I will say that I’m somewhat encouraged that they will incorporate a bunch of other things related to personal living in their platform.