Bothell, Wash.—June 13, 2008—Vertafore, Inc., a provider of market-leading software and services to the insurance industry, today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Sircon Corporation.
Sircon serves the unique needs of the insurance market by connecting carriers, agencies and brokers, agents, education providers and state regulators through a comprehensive suite of online services that allows companies to manage compliance and producer information and helps agents get licensed and appointed faster.
"As a leading provider of producer lifecycle management solutions for the insurance industry, Sircon benefits the entire distribution chain by streamlining and expediting the producer license and contracting process, decreasing costs and increasing revenue by allowing producers to begin to sell sooner," said Euan Menzies, president and CEO of Vertafore. "Our acquisition of Sircon will further expand Vertafore’s solutions to help companies and individual producers in the insurance industry keep track of requirements needed to sell insurance in all 50 states. Sircon fits perfectly with our mission of improving channel productivity, and we believe Sircon’s offering will be valuable for our broker and carrier customers."
Sircon Corporation provides an industry-wide solution to automate demanding licensing and compliance requirements. Serving the producer management needs of both the insurance industry and state government regulators, the company offers a complete suite of integrated, end-to-end insurance compliance products and services. Sircon's solutions provide essential industry services by eliminating paper and automating manual compliance processes for carriers, agencies and brokers, producers (agents) and state regulators.
“Since both Sircon and Vertafore are focused on solving business needs across the insurance marketplace, we feel this is an extremely positive move for us and the industry as a whole," said Bob Nero, president and chief executive officer of Sircon Corporation. “Sircon complements Vertafore’s current solutions, and its strong presence in the agency and broker markets will drive producer adoption, which will in turn be especially valuable for carriers. I believe that the acquisition will result in significant synergies that will expand the services we can provide to our customers and accelerate Sircon and Vertafore’s growth.”
The acquisition is expected to close prior to July 30, 2008, subject to customary closing conditions.
About Sircon Corporation
Sircon Corporation provides a comprehensive producer lifecycle platform to grow, manage and optimize producer channels. The company offers this platform as software-as-a-service (SaaS) to deliver immediate and compelling value to insurance carriers, insurance agencies and brokers, producers (agents) and state regulators for licensing, recruiting, contracting, regulatory compliance, education tracking and producer management. Sircon's solutions provide essential industry services by connecting these stakeholders through the Sircon network. For more information, please visit www.sircon.com <http://www.sircon.com/?lid=notnav&sc=gaszerst> or call 877.876.4430.
About Vertafore, Inc.
Vertafore is a leading provider of specialized software services and information for the insurance industry, delivering solutions to facilitate independent agent productivity and carrier/agent connectivity. Vertafore's principal operating entities are AMS Services, SilverPlume and ImageRight. AMS Services provides agency software and services to more than 15,000 independent insurance agencies and 150,000 users. SilverPlume is the industry's leading aggregator of insurance reference content for risk analysis and underwriting support. ImageRight is a market leader in insurance-specific content and document management and workflow solutions. For more information on Vertafore and its operating entities, please visit www.vertafore.com.
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AMS Services, ImageRight, SilverPlume <http://www.silverplume.com> and Sircon <http://www.benefitpoint.com> are trademarks of Vertafore, Inc.
The names of actual companies, business units and products mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Vertafore acquiring Sircon?
Vertafore has acquired Sircon to further its mission of increasing channel productivity in insurance distribution. The acquisition combines complementary industry-leading insurance software and services offerings.
What are the benefits to Vertafore customers?
Sircon solutions can help our customers process, manage, monitor and track the activities and necessary interactions occurring between individual agents (or producers) and carriers, agencies/brokers, education providers and state regulators. Several Vertafore customers have expressed that this is a pain point for them today, and as our customers grow, the need to manage many producers representing many carriers in many states will grow as well.
How will Sircon solutions integrate with Vertafore products?
Vertafore plans to add Sircon’s Compliance Express product to the Producer Center in AMS 360. This will allow AMS 360 users to more efficiently apply for licenses, renew licenses, track continuing education requirements, and manage other tasks related to licensing and
contracting, resulting in time savings and improved compliance.
Who are Sircon’s customers?
Sircon’s customers form the largest online network in the insurance industry and include 1,500 insurance carriers, agencies/brokers (including over 200 subscribers), 250,000 individual producers (agents), 1,400 education providers and access to all 50 states with direct connections to 18 state regulators.
What is the plan for business?
Sircon will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vertafore.
What is the plan for employees?
The current office in Okemos, Michigan will continue to exist and there is no plan to move or reduce the 120 employees.
What happens to the Sircon brand?
The Sircon brand will not change.
