Gerber Life's Parent Sews Up Fabric Purchase

Western & Southern Financial Group announced today that has acquired Fabric Technologies, a company that sells protection-oriented insurance to families through the web and through a mobile app, from Bessemer Venture Partners.

Western & Southern is a Cincinnati-based insurer that was founded in 1888 and owns or manages about $113 billion in assets.

Fabric was founded in 2015 by Adam Erlebacher and Steven Surgnier. It has helped 60,000 people buy term life insurance and accidental death insurance from Penn Mutual’s Vantis Life Insurance Company subsidiary.

Western & Southern said in 2018, when it acquired Gerber Life Insurance Company, a well-known life insurance for children through direct-to-consumer programs, that it wanted to find new ways to help middle-market families get covered.

Acquiring Fabric is a way to offer mass-market consumers digital tools they can use to buy insurance and other financial services, Western & Southern said in the Fabric deal announcement.

Western & Southern noted that Fabric offers parents support services, such as a free will-creation tool, and access to college savings plan providers, as will as a fast, digital life insurance application and underwriting process.

“Western & Southern plans to leverage its industry-leading capital strength and the iconic Gerber Life brand to make a multiyear investment in Fabric’s digital platform and team, providing the resources necessary to maximize the platform’s value to current and prospective customers,” the company said.

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