AmeriLife Group, a national leader in the marketing and distribution of life and health insurance products, will acquire TruChoice Financial Group in an industry-altering agreement.
AmerLife is also acquiring Inforce Solutions as part of the agreement with Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Based in Minneapolis, TruChoice is one of the largest field marketing organizations in the industry. The company partners with life insurance and annuity agencies to provide them with marketing, sales support and financial solutions. Inforce, a subsidiary of TruChoice, is a nationwide general brokerage agency focused on the life insurance market.
The acquisitions will boost AmeriLife, which partners with top insurance companies to distribute products through a network of more than 300,000 insurance agents and advisors and more than 100 insurance marketing organizations and agencies nationwide.
The deal is just the latest successful merger in a distribution landscape that favors scale over independence. AmeriLife is a competitor to Integrity Marketing Group, which is on an aggressive buying spree highlighted by the acquisition of Annexus Group at the end of July.
Sheryl Moore is founder and CEO of Moore Market Intelligence. The acquisition of TruChoice is a major boost for AmeriLife, she said this morning.
“Two of life insurance’s biggest marketing organizations have just formed a force to be reckoned with,” she said. “It will be interesting to see how many FMOs will be left standing when all of this aggregation is complete.”
TrueChoice was formed by a combination of American Financial, Ann Arbor Annuity Exchange, GamePlan Financial Marketing, and The Annuity Store in October 2019. In 2019, the most recent numbers available, TrueChoice generated approximately $2.8 billion in annuity sales and over $23 million in life insurance product sales.
Expanded annuity production
The addition of TruChoice provides a significant opportunity for AmeriLife to expand its annuity production, as well as increase its reach in the rapidly growing life insurance market and forge a closer relationship with Allianz Life, said said AmeriLife in a press release.
“Today’s announcement brings together two incredible companies that not only share similar values, but also a deep and unwavering commitment to empowering agents and advisors to help their clients live more financially secure lives.” , said Scott R. Perry, president and CEO of AmeriLife. “We are thrilled to welcome Brian Peterson and the talented teams of TruChoice and Inforce to the AmeriLife family and its best cast.”
Under the AmeriLife umbrella, TruChoice and Inforce will have access to a wealth of resources, new products and industry-leading solutions to expand opportunities for their more than 4,000 finance professionals. Like AmeriLife, TruChoice will continue to maintain its strong relationship with Allianz Life as an unaffiliated FMO as the latter strives to focus on its core business of creating innovative products that help customers manage their risks in retirement, according to the press release.
“This is an excellent decision for TruChoice that sets us on a path to significant growth in the future,” said Brian Peterson, President and CEO of TruChoice Financial Group and Inforce. “I couldn’t be more excited for our employees and the finance professionals we serve. I believe AmeriLife is the perfect new partner to help us drive this exciting expansion.
“This sale strengthens Allianz Life’s ability to focus more on its core strengths of providing our independent distribution partners with innovative risk management and retirement solutions for their clients,” said Jasmine Jirele, President and CEO. of Allianz Life. “I am also delighted that this decision allows TruChoice to accelerate its growth as an independent distributor. We look forward to continuing our partnership with TruChoice and expanding our relationship with the AmeriLife group of companies.
Piper Sandler & Co. is acting as exclusive financial advisor to TruChoice Financial Group and Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America in connection with the transaction, which is expected to close on November 30, 2022, subject to customary closing conditions .
Editor-in-chief of InsuranceNewsNet, John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.
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