Innovative annuity products will now be the focus of Quilt
In another sign of the sobering of Insurtech and its move towards “collaboration” vs. “disruption, life insurance start-up, Haven Life, announced this week that it has acquired the online insurtech platform Quilt. Both Quilt, founded by four former Massachusetts insurance professionals and Haven Life, which is both back and wholly-owned by MassMutual, were founded in 2015.
We continue to have big ambitions for Haven Life and what we can do in this industry,” said Yaron Ben-Zvi, CEO and Co-Founder of Haven Life. “To achieve our goals and expand into more product offerings, we needed to bring on a sophisticated partner who not only understands the complexities of the insurance industry but also has the drive to not settle for the status quo. We are thrilled to have Quilt’s talented team join us and can’t wait to showcase the innovation that comes out of this collaboration.”
Quilt will no longer sell nor manage renters and life insurance
While Quilt’s initial aim was to offer “radically simple” life and renters insurance, upon its acquisition by Haven Life, it will no longer sell nor manage renters or term life insurance. The company says that existing customers already have been notified and are now transitioning to the policy issuer.
Instead, Haven Life and MassMutual will use Quilt’s success in simplifying and streamlining complex financial products in order to address the growing financial problems throughout the U.S.: retirement.
As a result, the Quilt team and its technological know-how will now focus on re-imagining the customer experience with respect to researching and buying longevity products, and in particular “…how wealth annuitization can help address the financial concerns of future retirees.”
Life expectancy is steadily increasing yet many Americans are not financially prepared for an extended retirement. Pensions are disappearing, which means an increasing number of people could outlive their savings. Unless something changes, there’s a crisis on the horizon,” said Quilt co-founder and chief executive Blair Baldwin. “Our job is to determine how longevity products can help the average person live a better life long into retirement. We couldn’t be more excited to join forces with Haven Life and MassMutual to use our combined technology, resources and expertise to bring this vision to life.”
For those interested in learning more about Quilt and its initial aims, please refer to Agency Checklists March 2017 profile of the insurtech entitled,”A Q&A With Boston-based Insurtech Quilt And Its Quest For Radical Simplicity In Insurance.“
