Alberta insurance tech provider acquires Ontario specialty insurer

Besurance Corporation, a Calgary-based insurance and technology company, has agreed to acquire Fenchurch General Insurance Company, an Ontario-based specialty insurer that offers insurance programs across Canada.

Specifically, Fenchurch provides programs in warranty, trucking, surety and accident and sickness. Its products are — and will continue to be — distributed through respected third-party administrators, brokers and agents who share the vision of writing profitable business, the company states in a release.

Besurance describes itself as Alberta-based, privately-held insurance and technology incubator and innovator. The company is made up of three work streams:

• a managing general agent (AIME Financial)
• You 2.0 (which offers dynamic lifestyle underwriting through a health-and-wellness platform)
• Besure (Software as a Service that facilitates social insurance, peer-to-peer risk sharing and product incubation).

The transaction is projected to close in the first half of 2019.

“Besurance is excited to acquire Fenchurch and welcomes their proven team of insurance professionals,” commented Minaz Lalani, chairman of Besurance. “This acquisition aligns with our organization’s values. Our objective is to leverage technology to innovate traditional insurance concepts, by evolving and modernizing solutions that are more closely aligned with customers’ needs.”

Besurance describes its vision as “identifying and closing the gap between the coverage consumers have available to them and the protection they actually need.” To do this, the company strives to understanding deficiencies in the marketplace, improve insurance products, and integrate the insurances products with social technology. “This approach enables Besurance to restore…a community element that encourages idea-sharing, innovation and a participatory culture,” the company says.

Fenchurch will continue to operate from its office in Mississauga, Ontario.

“We are pleased to join the Besurance group of companies,” said Fenchurch president Steve Brown. “We will continue to provide unique, customer-driven solutions to our new and existing clients. Our leadership and professional insurance team looks forward to applying Besurance’s differentiated capabilities to enhance customer experience and deliver unparalleled value while maintaining our service to existing markets.”

David Gambrill