Ascend has agreed to merge with premium finance provider Honor Capital in a deal aimed at creating what the companies describe as the insurance industry’s first fully vertically integrated financial operations platform.
The combined business will bring together AI-powered accounting automation, embedded payments, invoicing and premium financing into a single platform designed for insurance brokers, agencies and carriers.
Ascend’s platform is currently used by more than 4,000 insurance businesses, including more than half of the 50 largest brokers in the US. Honor Capital, which provides premium financing nationwide, will continue operating as the financing provider following completion of the merger.
The transaction is intended to address long-standing operational inefficiencies across insurance finance operations, where insurers and brokers often rely on disconnected systems for accounting, payments, reconciliation and premium financing.
Ascend currently provides workflow automation tools for insurance financial operations, including cash application, direct bill commission processing, carrier payables and client invoicing. Its platform integrates payments and financing into accounts receivable workflows while supporting reconciliation and month-end close processes through a unified system.
Following the merger, the combined platform will support the full insurance finance lifecycle, spanning collections, invoicing, reconciliation, payments and premium financing.
Built on an AMS-agnostic architecture, the platform is designed to help insurers reduce manual finance and accounting processes while improving operational visibility and reducing reconciliation delays.
Ascend CEO Praveen Chekuri said, “Insurance businesses have been stuck managing their financial operations across separate tools: an AMS, a ledger, payments vendors, software providers, premium finance companies – each coming with their own cost and separate, inefficient workflows.
“Ascend’s complete solution consolidates all of this into a single tool that enables complete visibility, end to end automation, and the highest ROI for our customers.”
Honor Capital co-president Tony M. Perez said, “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.
“Together with Ascend, we are defining a new category for insurance financial operations by combining AI-powered accounting automation, payments, and premium finance into the first complete platform experience built for the insurance industry.”
Ascend co-president Andrew Wynn said, “We started Ascend because insurance businesses deserve better software and tools.
“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.”
The combined company will continue to operate under Ascend’s leadership team following completion of the transaction, with integration expected to take place gradually over the coming months.
The merger remains subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
