ChoicePoint (NYSE: CPS), today announced the acquisition of California-based Steel Card, LLC and its award-winning Apogee product line.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Steel Card provides a comprehensive, Web-based personal lines software solution for the property and casualty insurance industry. The software includes capabilities that span the policy administration lifecycle, such as rating, rules, forms, Internet quoting, Internet purchasing and full policy processing for all personal lines.
Steel Card and its products will be integrated into ChoicePoint's insurance software and process outsourcing business, Insurity, based in Hartford, Connecticut. These new capabilities will be marketed as part of Insurity's Insurance Decisions suite of products and services.
"This acquisition is another strategic addition to our Insurance Decisions suite," said Jeffrey Glazer, ChoicePoint's senior vice president for Insurance Services. "We are continually seeking to expand the options and value we bring to our customers. The additional functionality from this acquisition will immediately bolster ChoicePoint's personal lines capabilities. It increases the ability of our customers to deploy new products and offer significant self-service capabilities to their distribution channels and customers."
"Adding Steel Card to ChoicePoint's already robust insurance offerings, industry expertise and proven implementation capabilities will help add to ChoicePoint's position as a market leader," said Max Drucker, a former Steel Card executive who joins ChoicePoint as part of the acquisition.
"This acquisition makes sense for both sides," said Matthew Josefowicz, manager of the insurance practice at Celent, a global research and consulting firm that publishes market-leading reports on insurance software. "We have rated the solutions of both companies highly. The acquisition of Steel Card significantly advances ChoicePoint's position in the personal lines space, and prospects for Steel Card's products can now have the assurance of a large corporate backer."
In addition, the acquisition addresses some key industry trends. "Insurity's enhanced personal lines offering creates a tremendous opportunity for customers looking for a flexible end-to-end personal lines underwriting application," said Glazer. "With the integration of the ChoicePoint underwriting data solutions, carriers will be able to more effectively utilize data throughout the insurance process, which will ultimately make it easier for agents and consumers to do business. As personal lines insurers move to reduce costs associated with processing new policies, straight through processing streamlines the new policy administration process from point of entry through issuance."
The transaction is not expected to have a material impact on ChoicePoint's financial results or to be dilutive to earnings.