How the Global Pandemic Has Intensified the Focus on Innovation in Insurance Industry

2021 APR 07 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at CDC & FDA Daily -- The COVID-19 pandemic has made many companies across all markets reevaluate what it takes to survive and grow during this global crisis. In the Insurance industry those tools are innovation and M&A activity. An article in the Insurance Journal said that: “The fallout from COVID-19 has intensified the focus on innovation. When growing your business face-to-face is restricted, you have little choice but to fall back on technology to maintain existing relationships but also to access new markets and grow your customer base,” said Joyce Chan, Hong Kong-based corporate insurance partner. “At the same time, in the face of balance sheet pressure, any innovation that can generate efficiencies and bring down the cost base is welcome. Technology will continue to be a key feature of the growth agenda in the coming year as re/insurers seek out insurtech providers that can deliver a competitive edge, be it through acquisition, investment or partnership. The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of technology across the insurance industry, underpinning deals of every size, the report continued, noting that examples of insurers taking stakes in insurtech start-ups increased across every geography...There were 407 completed mergers and acquisitions (M&A) worldwide in the insurance sector in 2020, down from 419 the previous year, according to a report published by global law firm Clyde & Co.” Active companies in the market this week include Reliance Global Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: RELI), Lemonade, Inc. (NYSE: LMND), Goosehead Insurance, Inc. (NASDAQ: GSHD), Root, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROOT), American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG).

“An anticipated pandemic-induced dip in activity in the second half of the year failed to materialize, however, with 206 deals in H2 2020, which was slightly up from 201 in the first six months of the year, according to the report titled “Finding opportunity in adversity. The Americas remained the most active region for M&A, with 192 deals in 2020, up 6% on 2019. It saw a spike in the second half of the year with 102 transactions - the highest number for five years - up from 90 in the first six months. Insurance transaction activity worldwide belied expectations in 2020. Dealmakers in the insurance industry, like many others, paused for reflection in the first half of the year, but not for long,” commented Ivor Edwards, head of Clyde & Co’s European Corporate Insurance Group.

Reliance Global Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: RELI) BREAKING NEWS: Reliance Global Group Reports 63% Increase in Revenue for 2020 and Provides Year-End Business Update - Reliance Global Group, Inc. which combines AI and cloud-based technologies with the personalized experience of a traditional insurance agency, today provided a business update and reported financial results for the year-ended December 31, 2020.

Ezra Beyman, CEO of Reliance Global Group, commented, “2020 was a transformative year for the Company. First, we continued our acquisition strategy with the purchase and successful integration of UIS Agency, LLC, a regional insurance agency serving the commercial transportation industry. We now operate through seven wholly owned agencies with plans to continue our M&A strategy. Specifically, we are targeting growing and profitable businesses that we can buy at attractive multiples and with the ability to leverage both technology and economies of scale to gain significant efficiencies.”

“In early 2020, we made a strategic investment in Nsure.com and, more recently, we launched our own platform, 5minuteinsure.com. The goal of 5minuteinsure.com is to tap into the growing number of online shoppers. Utilizing artificial intelligence, in many cases we can provide competitive insurance quotes online within five minutes, with minimal data input by the customer. 5minuteinsure.com combines the best of a traditional insurance agency, including the option for direct agent interaction with the ability to bind a policy either online or offline. I am especially pleased to report that 5MinuteInsure.com, through our affiliated Reliance Insurtech division, has received access to sales capabilities through licenses granted to Reliance Insurtech to sell home and auto insurance in 43 states, with near-term plans to add additional states and carriers, as well as expand into additional types of insurance. We believe this state-of-the-art Insurtech platform has the potential to truly disrupt the industry.”

“We continue to enhance our infrastructure and expand our internal resources. Heading into 2021, we are accelerating our sales and marketing initiatives targeting large enterprises and employee organizations. We have also hired senior insurance industry executives to assist in both the rollout of our online offering, as well as accelerate our acquisition strategy. In addition, we significantly enhanced our balance sheet through the recent public offering for gross proceeds of $12.4 million concurrent with our listing on the Nasdaq. The combination of these events provides us a much stronger platform to execute our organic growth and acquisition strategies.”

“In 2020, revenue increased 63%, reflecting our continued growth and execution of our business model. Importantly, we incurred significant company expenses in 2020 related to preparations for our Nasdaq listing, while at the same time, we invested heavily in our infrastructure and operations to support our continued expansion. As a result, we believe we have built a highly scalable operation with the potential for high recurring revenue and operating margins.” Continued.... Read this full release and more news for Reliance Global Technologies at: https://www.relianceglobalgroup.com/investor-relations/news-events/company-news

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