Press Room
Explore Our Latest Corporate Announcements and Press Releases
Southampton Financial Strengthens Commitment to Innovation through Equity Partnership with Cheep Insurance.
Press Release July 2, 2024
Toronto, ON, July 2, 2024 – Southampton Financial proudly announces its equity partnership with WebBroker Canada Inc., the driving force behind Cheep Insurance, renowned for its unique value proposition in the Atlantic Canada market. Cheep Insurance specializes in car, home and tenant insurance solutions with an emphasis on speciality segments. Their brokers are committed to offering exceptional client service while finding the best insurance products for all clients, regardless of their unique situation. Cheep Insurance is committed to accessibility — ensuring that all individuals, regardless of their driving record, credit score, or financial history, can secure personalized insurance and flexible payment solutions. Through its equity partnership with Southampton Financial, Cheep Insurance is poised to revolutionize its operations using innovative applications offered by Southampton's digital platform. This strategic alliance opens the door for expanded operations into Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia, and signifies a pivotal moment in enhancing the customer experience while fostering employee satisfaction and growth opportunities.
Founded in 2023, Southampton Financial is a value-added strategic investor committed to providing their partnered companies with the strategic guidance, capital access, market expansion, and back-end support services, including cutting-edge insurance technology platforms.
As Cheep’s president, Steve Earle, puts it, "In a landscape crowded with options for smaller brokers looking to consolidate or integrate with larger entities, our partnership with Southampton Financial stands apart. Unlike traditional mergers or acquisitions, this collaboration preserves Cheep Insurance's distinct brand identity, core values, and individual persona. Cheep Insurance gains access to cutting-edge technologies through this alliance, facilitating the transition from outdated legacy systems commonly found in traditional broker distributions."
Shahzad Hafeez, President and CEO of Southampton Financial, added, “The innovative Cheep platform and its dedicated employees fill an important gap in the Southampton platform. Southampton is committed to providing the best possible insurance solutions for all consumers, regardless of their accident history, credit rating or geographic location. Cheep provides an insurance solution for consumers who may not be able to obtain insurance coverage from traditional insurance markets.”
This new equity partnership between Southampton Financial and Cheep Insurance signals the start of a new era of innovation and inclusivity within the insurance sector. Together, they are poised to redefine industry norms, enabling Canadians to obtain customized insurance solutions tailored to their individual needs using a convenient digital platform.
Southampton Financial Acquisition of Onlia Insurance
Press Release May 1, 2024
Southampton Financial Inc. (“SHFI”) is very pleased to announce the completion of its acquisition of Onlia Insurance, a leading digital insurance intermediary based in Ontario, Canada. The strategic move marks a significant step forward in SHFI’s commitment to build a major Canadian integrated online insurance platform. SHFI’s mission is to redefine and significantly enhance the digital insurance experience for all Canadians.
Since its inception in 2018, Onlia has challenged traditional insurance with its new digital platform, providing customers a way to seamlessly buy and manage their insurance online. With this acquisition SHFI adds Onlia to its platform companies, which also includes Alteri Insurance and aha Insurance, acquired in October and December 2023, respectively.
“We are very happy to bring Onlia into our portfolio of companies and look forward to driving further innovation and accelerating growth in combination with other companies within the SHFI group. We intend to offer consumers a broad suite of products from our aha and Onlia brands”, Steve Livingstone, President and CEO of aha / Onlia, said.”
“We are also pleased to announce that Shahzad Hafeez, CPA, CGA has been appointed as the President and CEO of SHFI. Mr. Hafeez was previously the Head of Corporate Development for a major Canadian insurer. He has a broad and extensive knowledge in the P&C distribution space including mergers andacquisitions. We look forward to work closely with Shaz as well as the senior management team.” Brian Reeve, Founder and Chair of SHFI, said.
SHFI is committed to building the “Insurance broker of the future” using the proprietary integrated technology platform developed by aha in all of its subsidiaries. SHFI will provide capital, strategic direction, access to new markets and back-end support services to its portfolio companies. SHFI’s shareholders include a broad network of insurance industry veterans, having extensive experience with insurance companies, MGAs and insurance brokers.
Southampton Financial Acquisition of aha insurance
Press Release Dec 4, 2023
Southampton Financial, a private equity firm focused on the Canadian property and casualty distribution space, has acquired aha Insurance (“aha”), a digital insurance brokerage.
Headquartered in Waterloo, aha Insurance takes pride in being one of the first insurance brokerages in Canada to offer quote, purchase, and management of car and home insurance policies entirely online. aha’s knowledgeable and experienced team is committed to offer a higher standard of customer service driving an ease-of-use platform and superior customer satisfaction.
“We are pleased to welcome aha into our portfolio of companies and look forward to driving further innovation and accelerating growth” said Brian Reeve, founder and CEO at Southampton Financial.
“For the past six years, aha has focused on bringing digital solutions to the Canadian insurance landscape through our innovative brokerage platform. The transaction with Southampton marks a significant milestone for our young company as we will tap into a much larger platform with significant resources and talent to bring a broader range of products and services, all with the goal of greatly accelerating our growth strategy. We look forward to driving aha forward and working closely with Brian Reeve and the Southampton Financial team” added Steve Livingstone, CEO at aha Insurance.
KPMG Corporate Finance Inc. and Stikeman Elliot acted as M&A advisors to the shareholders of aha insurance while Dentons acted as legal advisor to Southampton Financial.
About aha Insurance
Launched in 2017, aha insurance is the first insurance brokerage in Canada to offer quote, purchase, and management of car and home insurance policies entirely online. Based in Waterloo, Ontario it is a privately-held company committed to providing a better, faster and easier way for customers in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia to experience insurance.
Customers are serviced by Ignite Services Inc., which collectively brings over 200 years of experience in the insurance industry.