US digital insurance provider At-Bay has announced its acquisition of Relay Platform – an insurtech serving commercial insurance brokers across Canada, the US, and the UK.
Founded in 2019, Relay is a digital placement solution for multiple speciality commercial lines – with a focus on cyber. It was noted that annual recurring premiums on the Relay platform grew seven times over the past six months, and cyber submissions grew ten times in the past year.
Following the acquisition, Relay will continue to serve a growing list of brokers and partners as an independent entity, with its own management team. Its addition to the At-Bay team expands Relay’s capabilities and value-added services for its partners.
Meanwhile, the acquisition of Relay complements At-Bay’s ongoing digital distribution strategy, a release said. At-Bay will now have access to Relay’s dedicated broker platform, as well as an API for partnering with other tech platforms and digital distribution solutions.
“Brokers are hungry for better service and streamlined workflows from their partners, which technology can transform. Far too often, they are held back by outdated processes and systems,” said At-Bay co-founder and CEO Rotem Iram. “Relay has built an innovative digital marketplace, tailored to the needs of brokers. By enabling it to focus all its efforts on serving brokers and their key partners, we believe it will deliver maximum benefit to the ecosystem and create the go-to marketplace for brokers in SMB specialty insurance.”
“Thanks to their collaborative and innovative approach to solving business risk, we see At-Bay as spearheading the successful development of a true multi-carrier platform,” added Relay co-founder and CEO Greg Boutin. “We immediately felt a strong connection with their team, with both of our companies holding a deep respect for the industry, while fiercely driving it into the future.”
“The industry has been waiting for a sustainable marketplace where brokers and carriers can collaborate on placements in a neutral setting, creating significant efficiencies for everyone,” commented At-Bay board of directors’ observer and former Lockton Companies chairman, president and CEO Dave Lockton. “I believe this marketplace, and the consortium of top carriers and brokers who will serve it, are at the vanguard of modernizing specialty insurance.”
Read more: Top 10 insurtech companies in Canada
In 2020, Relay was named one of Canada’s top 10 insurtechs by venture capital firm Luge Capital. The company was also named a Plug and Play top 10 insurtech in the same year.
