(Image source: Planck homepage.)

Applied Systems (Chicago) today announced that it has acquired Planck,  a provider of an AI-powered data and analytics platform to the insurance industry. Applied calls the deal a strategic acquisition that will significantly expand its AI capabilities, accelerating the company’s vision for the next generation of the digital roundtrip of insurance and creating more value at every stage of the insurance lifecycle for the benefit of agencies, carriers and its clients.

“We believe the time is now to take bold steps to lead the insurance industry in discovering and implementing the benefits AI has to offer,” comments Taylor Rhodes, CEO, Applied Systems. “By acquiring Planck, we will be investing behind a world-class team of AI and Data Science experts to accelerate the application of leading AI capabilities to insurance workflows. With our unique set of insurance technology assets that span both the agency and carrier sides of the market, our investment in Planck will deliver a significant opportunity to create AI-driven value throughout the next generation of the digital roundtrip of insurance in ways that will help our clients know more, do more of what differentiates them the most, and win more often.”

Applied reports that, during the last 18 months, the company released the first versions of AI-powered features in select Applied and EZLynx products, while also experimenting with various AI capabilities through our Applied AI Lab in collaboration with some of the industry’s largest agents and carriers. The company says these use cases have highlighted significant opportunities for the insurance industry to reduce inefficiencies from redundant tasks and unlock the value of data, creating a more accurate and comprehensive view of business operations to fuel additional growth. By leveraging AI capabilities, Applied aims to enhance the speed and quality of critical business processes, including marketing, sales, underwriting, renewals, servicing, and advisory services. The company says the Planck acquisition will further expand its opportunities to harness AI’s value in secure and practical ways, delivering intelligent automation throughout the insurance lifecycle.

Extending the Power of AI to Distribution Side

“We started Planck with the belief that access to real-time data to get a full picture of a business is more crucial than ever when identifying the actual risk factors that are core to insurance,” comments Elad Tsur, CEO and Co-Founder of Planck. “We are excited to build on the success of delivering our industry-leading AI capabilities to carriers by partnering with Applied to extend the power of AI to the agency and broker distribution side of the market.”

Hellman & Friedman, a global private equity firm with a focus on investing in high-quality growth businesses with a long-term approach, has been Applied’s majority shareholder since 2014, alongside minority shareholders Stone Point Capital, JMI Equity, and capitalG.

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