A company that sells insurance and financial services to credit unions has bought a 30% stake in a CU Direct subsidiary that offers similar services.
Allied Solutions, based in Carmel, Ind., is buying a stake in CU Direct’s Vero LLC subsidiary, which sells specialty insurance for credit unions and auto dealers. Core products include identity theft recovery solutions for credit unions and their members, Mechanical Breakdown Protection (MBP) and Guaranteed Auto Protection (GAP).
CU Direct, a CUSO based near Los Angeles, provides online technology for more than 1,000 credit unions to engage members and originate loans, including the CUDL auto lending platform.
CU Direct spokesman Bill Meyer described the joint venture as a “strategic partnership” that will allow Vero to deliver better lending solutions that will help credit unions “improve lending processes and member experience, and help increase loan growth.”
Allied Solutions had its origins in the late 1970s, when employees of Minnesota Mutual employees left the St. Paul insurer to form their own companies, often working together on projects over the years.
In 2001 and 2002 those companies merged to form Allied Solutions. Meanwhile, Minnesota Mutual changed its name to Securian Financial Group, and bought Allied Solutions in 2004, rejoining it with an insurer formed in 1880.
Joseph Annoreno co-founded Ensurety Group, Inc. in 2002, which CU Direct acquired and renamed Vero in 2007. Annoreno, of Scottsdale, Ariz., is Vero’s CEO.
“Collaborating with a recognized industry force like Allied Solutions, we have a tenured distribution network in the credit union space to partner with, as we bring Vero’s innovative products and systems to market,” Annoreno said.
