Kalen brings deep insurance and financial services leadership experience to Covr
Boise, ID—March 20, 2018—Michael Kalen has joined Covr Financial Technologies, a digital, multi-carrier life insurance platform for financial institutions, as its chief executive officer, Covr Board Chairman Brian Finn announced.
In announcing the naming of Kalen as the new CEO, Finn said, “As a veteran insurance executive with a strong track record of building insurance and financial services businesses, Michael is uniquely qualified to lead Covr’s growing management team. Michael understands first-hand the challenges facing carriers, banks and insurance technology businesses and can collaborate with them to find practical solutions that will propel Covr’s growth.”
In announcing the Kalen appointment, Finn noted that Kalen’s in-depth experience in financial technology and sales will make him a meaningful addition to Covr’s executive team. Kalen is an executive advisor with Aquiline Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm investing in businesses across the financial services sector in banking and credit, insurance, investment management and markets, and financial technology and services. Before that, for seven years, he was CEO of insurance marketer Futurity First, transforming it into a market leader in life and annuity distribution. Prior to that, he was president of The Hartford Life’s US Life Insurance business, the Number One seller of life insurance through financial institutions and banks. His experience also includes serving as senior vice president of insurance and estate planning at Prudential Securities and senior roles with Prudential Financial.
“In partnership with insurance carriers,” Kalen said, “Covr has brought simplicity to the insurance purchase process through its unique digital platform for financial institutions, direct to consumer platform and other digital offerings. By simplifying insurance buying, Covr’s technology has greatly enlarged the insurance sales space. I am looking forward to making the Covr platform a leading insurance marketing channel.”
Kalen is a frequent speaker on InsurTech and FinTech innovation and an advisor to several early stage companies as well as sitting on the board of trustees of Life Happens, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Americans take personal financial responsibility through the ownership of life insurance and related products, including disability and long-term care insurance. He has a BA in Management from the University of Delaware and an MBA in Finance from Columbia University.
The Covr platform connects life insurance products from nearly twenty major insurers to financial institutions and financial advisors, enabling them to offer insurance protection that is simple, straightforward and transparent to their customers.
The Covr Advisory Board includes: Chairman Brian Finn, former president of Credit Suisse First Boston; Sallie Krawcheck, CEO and co-founder of Ellevest as well as senior executive roles at Bank of America, Citigroup and Smith Barney; Hans Morris, managing partner, Nyca Partners, chairman of Lending Club, formerly president of Visa; Brady Dougan, former CEO of Credit Suisse; Greg Fleming, CEO Rockefeller Capital Management and former president of Morgan Stanley Wealth and Asset Management and COO and president of Merrill Lynch; Gary W. Parr, senior managing director at Apollo Global Management; Neal Wolin, former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury and former executive vice president and general for The Hartford Financial Services Group; and Matt Muta, vice president, IT Innovation and Commercial Technology, Delta Air Lines, formerly Microsoft’s global managing director for Hospitality and Travel.
ABOUT COVR FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGIES
Covr is a digital life insurance platform that makes it easy to protect what matters most: you and your family. Covr partners with financial institutions that share the belief that life insurance should be both simple and transparent. Through Covr’s technology, financial advisors and their customers can research and purchase affordable life insurance from well-known insurance companies without the hassles of the traditional process – all within a matter of minutes. Covr’s investors include four leading venture capital firms: Nyca Partners, Commerce Ventures, Connectivity Capital Partners and Contour Venture Partners. Offices: Boise and Hartford.
The Covr Advisory Board includes Chairman Brian Finn, former president of Credit Suisse First Boston; Sallie Krawcheck, CEO and co-founder of Ellevest as well as senior executive roles at Bank of America, Citigroup and Smith Barney; Hans Morris, managing partner, Nyca Partners, chairman of Lending Club, formerly president of Visa; Brady Dougan, former CEO of Credit Suisse; Gary W. Parr, senior managing director at Apollo Global Management; Neal Wolin, former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury and former executive vice president and general for The Hartford Financial Services Group; Robert Kerzner, President and CEO of LIMRA, LOMA and LL Global and former executive vice president, life division of Hartford Life, and Matt Muta, vice president, IT Innovation and Commercial Technology, Delta Air Lines, formerly Microsoft’s global managing director for Hospitality and Travel.