Property and casualty insurer The
Travelers Companies has completed the acquisition of UK-based distributor Simply Business from Aquiline Capital Partners LLC. The enterprise value was about £375 million (NZ$665 million), including the repayment of debt and other obligations.
Simply Business, which began operating in 2005, provides small business insurance policies online on behalf of a broad panel of carriers. It has more than 430,000 microbusiness customers, covering more than 1,000 classes of business.
Travelers chairman and chief executive Alan Schnitzer commented: “Simply Business is a growing technology company, and its proven model to enhance the insurance buying experience for microbusiness owners aligns with our efforts to simplify the small commercial insurance transaction and make it more efficient.”
Schnitzer believes that the knowledge, capabilities, and talent that Simply Business has developed over more than a decade will contribute meaningfully to advancing Travelers’ digital and innovation agendas to best serve customers and the marketplace.
The online business insurance broker will continue to partner with its panel of carriers – which includes
AXA,
Hiscox, and
Zurich – under its brand name, operating as a stand-alone business.
“We are committed to preserving the approach and values that have made Simply Business successful,” said Greg Toczydlowski, executive vice president and president of business insurance at Travelers, when the deal was announced earlier this year.
US-headquartered Travelers has approximately 30,000 employees and generated revenues of approximately $28 billion (£21.4 billion) in 2016. It funded the acquisition through a combination of debt financing and internal resources.
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