Sapiens acquired for $2.5B; Plymouth Rock's new execs: Insurance news

The following summaries are written by the Digital Insurance editorial staff.

Digital Insurance reviews a high volume of news leads every week for this and other stories. Please send press releases and other information to kaitlyn.mattson@arizent.com.

Sapiens acquired by Advent for $2.5B

Sapiens, an SaaS software solution for the insurance industry, was acquired by Advent, a private equity investor, for an equity value of about $2.5 billion. Formula Systems, an existing Sapiens shareholder, will retain its minority stake. Sapiens' Board of Directors approved the agreement. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year or early next year. 

Roni Al-Dor, CEO of Sapiens, said in a statement: "We are excited to enter the next chapter for Sapiens in partnership with Advent to continue supporting insurance carriers with their entire transformation journey, delivering the product innovation and service excellence they expect from us. Sapiens remains fully committed to being a global leader in SaaS, digital, and AI-driven insurance software solutions across Life, Pension & Annuities and P&C markets

Northwestern Mutual appoints COO

Northwestern Mutual announced Beth Rodenhuis as executive vice president, chief operating officer and business architect. Rodenhuis will oversee technology and digital strategy. Rodenhuis was most recently the senior vice president and head of global digital products and capabilities at Capital Group.

Tim Gerend, president and CEO, said in a statement: "Beth's strong business acumen, leadership in financial services and deep understanding of Northwestern Mutual's business will be additive to the executive team as we collectively accelerate progress of our business strategy. She brings demonstrated success in bringing together business and technology teams to improve the advisor and client experiences, which will be beneficial as we continue to provide financial security through trusted advisors and a comprehensive planning approach that brings together insurance and investments."

Plymouth Rock announces executives

Plymouth Rock Assurance announced several executive appointments. Brooke Bass has joined the company as chief operating officer. Dale Brooks has also been named chief claims officer.

Bass will oversee claims and customer service with a focus on operations and strategic initiatives. She was most recently the senior vice president of auto physical damage claims for U.S. retail markets at Liberty Mutual.

Brooks, who joins the company from Progressive Insurance, will lead claims and focus on improvements, loss control and customer experience. 

Ethan Tarby, president and CEO of Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation, said in a statement: "The appointments of Brooke and Dale represent an important step forward in pursuing our strategic objectives and expanding the depth of our executive leadership team. Their expertise and proven leadership will be invaluable to both our agency partners and our internal teams as we continue to drive operational excellence and deliver exceptional service."

Chubb appoints property claims lead

Chubb announced Kim Hare as senior vice president, head of North America property claims. 

Kevin Rampe, EVP, head of North America claims, said in a statement:  "With a proven leadership track record, Kim will guide the Property team in delivering best-in-class service while continuing to build a digital-forward claims experience. She brings an extensive understanding of property and casualty products, sales and service, and claims management, including large loss claims, and is deeply committed to ensuring we continue delivering a premium claims service."

Hare joins the company from Farmers Insurance where she was senior vice president, head of property claims. Hare succeeds Tim Barziza, who will retire next April. 

One Inc and INTX partner

One Inc and INTX are partnering on insurance payments and simplifying core processes. The two companies will connect Onc Inc.'s payment solution, Premium Pay and ClaimsPay with INTX's insurance management system to eliminate paper checks and digitize payments. 

Robert Lewis, CEO of INTX, said in a statement: "INTX is committed to building partnerships that eliminate friction and make digital transformation achievable for every insurer. By aligning with One Inc, we're empowering our clients with a leading payments solution that complements our vision for unified, out-of-the-box insurance operations."

Cytora launches Unified Risk Reasoning

Cytora launched Unified Risk Reasoning, a digital risk processing platform to automate pre-decisioning workflows. Cytora recently launched Concierge for underwriters to digitize requests.

Sam Lewis, VP product at Cytora, said in a statement: "Unified Risk Reasoning is a major breakthrough. It cracks one of the biggest challenges in the true automation of risk workflows - finding, choosing and finalizing the ultimate data required to give a complete picture of the risk. This has always required the hard work of a seasoned professional. Now, by leveraging the very latest capabilities of AI, we have developed a system that accurately executes this expertise. As a result, insurers, brokers and reinsurers will see massive efficiency gains and cost reductions."