Zywave is a Milwaukee-based provider of software for insurance carriers, brokers, and agencies. The company was founded in 1995 and builds tools for quoting, agency management, compliance, and data analytics. Agencies, MGAs, and carriers use its systems for day-to-day sales and policy servicing. The platform now covers much of that front-office work.
Website: zywave.com
Head office address: 10100 W. Innovation Drive, Suite 300, Milwaukee, WI 53226
Founded: 1995, Milwaukee
Company type: private; backed by Clearlake Capital Group and Aurora Capital Partners
Business focus: insurance distribution, agency management, and content software
Regions served: US, Canada, and select international markets
The company has spent more than three decades building software for insurance carriers, brokers, and agencies. Much of its growth has come through acquisitions rather than in-house development alone.
Those deals turned a single quoting tool into a broader software platform. Each acquisition added a specific capability rather than duplicating what the company already had. The result is a platform built through acquisition rather than a single product built from scratch.
Zywave’s software falls into a few broad categories that cover most of the insurance sales and service cycle. Most connect with each other inside its platform and share the same underlying data.
Carriers, brokers, and agencies often license several of these tools at once. The company builds them to share data across its platform instead of operating as separate products.
Insurance Business named Zywave one of its 5-Star Insurance Technology Providers in 2021. The list recognizes insurtech companies for their impact on agencies and brokers. The recognition came amid years of frequent acquisitions that helped build its software portfolio.
Zywave also made the 5-Star Insurance Technology Providers 2022 list the following year. It was one of nine companies to win that year.
Readers who want more on other awards and special reports can check out IBA’s Best In Insurance page.
The company says its platform serves thousands of carriers, MGAs, agencies, and brokers across the US and abroad. Its tools integrate with account management systems that agencies and brokers already use. Examples include Vertafore’s AMS360 and Applied Systems’ Applied Epic.
Private equity firms Clearlake Capital Group and Aurora Capital Partners have backed the company since 2020. The investment gave the company capital to keep acquiring insurtech firms. More recently, it funded the buildout of Zywave Apex, an AI platform for brokers and carriers.
For its latest moves, check the news section on this page.
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