Verisk Analytics has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire FAST, a software firm for the life insurance and annuity sector, for a purchase price of $193.5 million.
FAST, which stands for Flexible Architecture, Simplified Technology, offers a policy administration system that enables insurers to accelerate both underwriting and claims to enhance the customer experience and support profitable expansion.
The software firm provides a SaaS suite of out-of-the-box components that life insurance companies can leverage to enhance or replace their legacy policy administration systems. The software is currently used by a number of life insurers, and also provides a channel for Verisk to deliver its innovative analytics to support straight-through underwriting.
Neil Spector, President at ISO, a Verisk business, commented: “As customer expectations for a fast and easy insurance experience rapidly increase, life insurers are being pressured to modernize operations across the policy life cycle.
“But transitioning from legacy solutions is a major investment in time and money. The plug-and-play software that FAST has developed lets life insurers make this transition in stages and without a large up-front capital commitment.”
Mark Anquillare, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Verisk, said: “The acquisition of FAST will extend our offerings to the life insurance market as we build a comprehensive suite of innovative solutions to support insurer modernization. By working with FAST technology and its customers, we’ll be able to improve our predictive models and offer integrated data analytics to life insurers through an end-to-end workflow solution.”
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FAST, Tom Famularo, added: “Verisk has become a leader in developing solutions that help insurers make critical decisions with increased speed and precision. As part of Verisk, we’ll be able to enhance our software, expand our reach, and provide robust analytics to meet the rapidly changing needs of life insurers and their customers.”
