Asurion

Asurion

Asurion

American insurance company

Not to be confused with Assurant.

Asurion, LLC is a privately held company based in Nashville, Tennessee,[3] that provides insurance for smartphones, tablets, consumer electronics, appliances, satellite receivers and jewelry. In 2014, the company operated in 14 countries and had 49 offices with 19,000 employees serving 280 million consumers.[4]

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History

In 1995, Stanford graduates Kevin Taweel and Jim Ellis used a search fund to acquire the Houston-based roadside assistance company, Road Rescue. The roadside assistance service was sold through local wireless carriers.[5] Four years later, they purchased Nashville-based Merrimac Group, which was offering specialty insurance to cover cellphones.[citation needed] The company began expanding its operations globally in 2003, with an expansion into Asia followed by expansions into Europe (2008)[citation needed] and Australia (2013).[6] The company expanded into Latin America in 2014 with a partnership with America Movil.

The company’s products, services, and clients have expanded since founding, due in part to acquisitions. On January 1, 2006, Lock/line merged with Asurion making Lock/line's former parent company, DST Systems Inc., 35 percent shareholder of the combine company.[7] With the acquisition of Lumitrend on May 31, 2006, the company expanded its product portfolio to include CellBackup software.[8] Cloud device management firm Soluto was acquired in 2013.[9] Also in 2006, the company acquired Warranty Corporation of America (WaCA)[10] then merged in 2008 with National Electronics Warranty (NEW Customer Service Company).[11]

As the company attempted to expand with new ventures, customer service was always an issue. So in February 2017, Asurion launched its Simplr subsidiary to provide customer-service via on demand staffing and machine learning.[12] Through Soluto, Asurion acquired in 2017 Drippler, another tech support app company, and merged it with Soluto.[2] In August 2019, Asurion acquired uBreakiFix, a national phone & electronics repair chain.[13]

In 2018, Asurion borrowed $3.75 billion via two leveraged loans, the proceeds of which were to be funneled to the PE firms that acquired the company in 2007. The two loans brought the company's total term loans to $11.3 billion.[14]

In 2019, Asurion paid $300,000 to a person who claimed to have stolen 1TB of employee and customer information.[15]

Recognition

The company received a CES Innovation Award in 2015 for its support and protection apps that combine live support and instant notifications.[16]

References

  1. [1]
    Joel Stinnett (November 15, 2019). "Exclusive: Asurion lays off hundreds of employees". Nashville Business Journal.
  2. [2]
    "Mobile Insurance Company Asurion Buys Device Tech Support Startup Drippler". Calcalist. December 19, 2017. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  3. [3]
    "Asurion to grow in Nashville". The Commercial Appeal. December 17, 2010. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  4. [4]
    "As mobile use climbs, Asurion grows". The Tennessean. September 25, 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  5. [5]
    "Paying Entrepreneurs to Find the Right Business". The New York Times. March 11, 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  6. [6]
    "Asurion Australia Invest $30m to create 300 jobs". ZDNet. June 3, 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  7. [7]
    "Asurion completes Lock\line deal". Nashville Business Journal. January 3, 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  8. [8]
    "Asurion Wraps Up Deal for Lumitrend". Nashville Business Journal. June 21, 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  9. [9]
    "Cloud based device management startup, soluto, acquired by device insurer Asurion". Techcrunch. October 30, 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  10. [10]
    "Asurion plans big new Atlanta software". Atlanta Business Journal. December 16, 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  11. [11]
    "N.E.W. Merges with Asurion". Private Equity Hub. May 23, 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  12. [12]
    "Fast-growing Asurion launches new company". Nashville Business Journal. April 12, 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  13. [13]
    "Asurion buys national repair chain". Nashville Business Journal. August 26, 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  14. [14]
    Richter, Wolf. "A junk-rated company just secured billions in loans — and the deal demonstrates just how irrational the credit market is right now". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  15. [15]
    Osborne, Charlie. "These are the worst hacks, cyberattacks, and data breaches of 2019". ZDNet. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
  16. [16]
    "Jerusalem start-up wins top tech prize for robo printer". The Times of Israel. January 9, 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
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