Ascend’s 2024 Year in Review

As we close the chapter on 2024, we’re thrilled to share some of the milestones and moments that defined this transformative year for Ascend. From breakthrough product launches to industry recognition, this year has reinforced our mission to modernize the financial infrastructure for the insurance industry.

Here’s a look at how we grew, innovated, and contributed to the insurance ecosystem in 2024.

🚀 Growth & Market Impact

• $1B+ in Annual Premium Processed: Ascend processed more premium than ever, crossing $1B in transacted premium, validating our platform’s scalability and market demand.
• 13,000+ Insurance Businesses Served: Ascend now facilitates financial transactions for 1 in 4 U.S. insurance businesses, a testament to our growing market influence.
• Team Grew by 56%: We hired 17 new teammates in 2024 across engineering, sales, operations to help meet the demands of our customers (and we're still hiring!).

💡 Product Innovation

• AI-Powered Automation: We launched Direct Bill Automation and AI Invoicing in 2024. These solutions both leveraged AI to streamline complex billing and accounting workflows and improve operational accuracy and efficiency for insurance businesses.
• Expanded Integrations: We built integrations with more policy and agency management systems like BindHQ, BenefitPoint, and more.
• Increased payment flexibility: We made it even easier to use Ascend to manage payments including accepting checks, allowing for split payments, and supporting batched MGA/wholesaler payables.
• Improved Payables Reconciliation: Ascend also now automatically handles reconciliation tasks in your AMS such as clearing receipts, company payables, and other key accounting tasks.

🌟 Industry Recognition

• CB Insights Insurtech 50: Named among the 50 most promising private insurtech companies globally for the second year in a row, affirming our innovation and leadership in the space.
• Global 5-Star Technology Provider Award: Honored by Insurance Business America for excellence in modernizing insurance accounting operations.

📢 Partnership Announcements

• We strengthened relationships across the MGA and wholesale landscape, signing partnerships with Blitz Insurance, Nirvana Insurance, Anzen, Quotewell, Cennairus Insurance, and more.
• We welcomed more than one retail agency a day as a new customer throughout all of last year. Agencies choose Ascend because they are able to leverage automation to see real business impact in their businesses such as:
  • 90% decrease in time spent reconciling commission statements
  • Decrease NOCs by 80%‍
  • Decrease time spent on agency bill workflows in half

Looking Ahead to 2025

The coming year promises to be just as exciting as we build on our momentum:

• Additional AI-Driven Products: Based in customer feedback, we will expand on how to best leverage AI to simplify more workflows across other manual repetitive tasks burdening insurance teams today.
• Expanded Integrations: We will deepen integrations with existing AMS/PAS as well as expand to additional systems used across all types of insurance businesses.
• Additional MGA/Wholesale Functionality: Our platform for insurance intermediaries will continue to evolve to automate additional AR/AP workflows to cover however you want to interact with your trading partners.

Thank You

Thank you to our customers, investors, and partners who continue to believe in Ascend’s mission. Together, we’re modernizing the financial infrastructure of insurance and transforming how this industry operates.

Here’s to another year of innovation, growth, and shared success in 2025!

– Andrew, Praveen, & the Ascend Team

‍