Merger Creates New Insurance Financial Operations Platform
Springfield-based Honor Capital, the nation’s fourth-largest premium finance company, and Ascend, a financial operations platform serving the insurance industry, have announced a definitive merger agreement. Upon closing, the newly formed entity will offer the first fully integrated final operations platform. According to the companies, the platform will bring together insurance billing, payments, premium financing, accounting, and financial workflow automation.
“Honor Capital brings more than 75 years of collective premium finance heritage, built on deep operating expertise and long-standing relationships with agents, insureds, and partners,” said Tony M. Perez, President & CEO of Honor Capital.” Together with Ascend, we are defining a new category for insurance financial operations bycombining AI-powered accounting automation, payments, and premium finance into the first complete platform experience built for the insurance industry.”
In announcing the merger on its own website, Ascend CEO Praveen Chekuri Co-President Andrew Wynn wrote the following:
“Today, we’re excited to announce that Ascend has entered into a definitive agreement with Honor Capital to merge. Together, we’re unifying the financial workflows of insurance from collection to close in a single solution: AI-powered accounting automation, embedded payments, invoicing, and now native premium financing.”
Platform Combines Payments, Accounting and Premium Financing
The combined Ascend platform delivers end-to-end workflow automation, including:
- AI-powered workflow automation. Streamlined operational finance and accounting workflows, including cash application, direct bill commission processing, carrier payables and client invoicing — helping teams reduce manual effort, improve accuracy and save time across routine processes — saving insurance businesses thousands of hours annually.
- Embedded payments and native premium financing. Payments and premium financing built directly into the accounts receivable workflow, with financing available nationwide.
- Full Financial Visibility from Collection to Close. Faster reconciliation and month-end close with a single layer across all AR / AP empowering teams to realize revenue quicker with an AMS-agnostic architecture allowing all teams and systems to be consolidated under one system.
Leadership Team Announced for Combined Company
Post-merger, the Ascend platform, will be led by Praveen Chekuri as CEO with Tony M. Perez and Andrew Wynn serving as Co-Presidents and Joseph A. Cambi, founder of Honor Capital, serving as Chairman. Perez and Cambi have led Honor Capital for more than a decade, growing it into one of the largest premium finance companies in the country. Wynn and Chekuri co-founded Ascend in 2021 and have spent the past five years building it to be the market-leading insurance financial operations platform.
“We started Ascend because insurance businesses deserve better software and tools,” said Andrew Wynn, Co-Founder and Co-CEO. “This merger helps deliver on that. For the first time, insurance businesses can manage the complete depth of its financial operation in one place: payments, reconciliation, payables, cash tracking, and premium financing.”
Customers of both Honor Capital and Ascend will continue to be served without disruption. Ascend currently serves more than 4,000 businesses, including more than half of the nation’s 50 largest insurance brokers. Honor Capital will continue providing premium financing products and is licensed to operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The transition to the combined platform will be phased over the coming months, with dedicated support through the process. The merger is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
About Honor Capital
Based in Springfield, Honor Capital is one of the largest premium finance companies in the United States, providing market-leading premium finance solutions to insurance agents, brokers and industry partners nationwide. Built on deep premium finance expertise, long-standing relationships, and a tailored service-driven operating model, Honor Capital is authorized in all 50 states, including D.C., and remains focused on helping agencies grow through custom services, operational discipline, and technology-enabled financing solutions.
About Ascend
Ascend is the only complete financial operations platform built for the insurance industry, combining AI-powered accounting automation, payments, and premium financing in a single vertically integrated platform. Ascend serves over 4,000 customers, including 25 of the 50 largest brokers in the country. To learn more, contact
