What Sunderland Group does

Sunderland Group is a Fargo, North Dakota-based Field Marketing Organization (FMO) that supports independent insurance agents and financial advisors with carrier contracting, proprietary digital sales tools, training, and back-office support across annuity, life, health, Medicare, disability, and long-term care product lines. Co-founded by Brad and Derek Sunderland, the firm operates as a subsidiary of Simplicity Group following a 2021 acquisition and serves its agent network through an integrated platform anchored by the Simplicity Agent Center, a single-sign-on hub that consolidates policy visibility, contracting, and resource access. The product portfolio includes all-digital sales platforms LifeLink (life insurance) and AnnuityLink (MYGAs/annuities, claimed to lift conversion by 38%), the Medicare Exchange enrollment tool with direct Medicare.gov Rx integration, the Kai-Zen leveraged life insurance strategy paired with the ILIA strategy management tool, the Ensight IUL digital sales platform, the Tax-Free Retirement prospecting program, and analytical tools IndexAlyzer and Annuity Rate Watch for fixed indexed and fixed annuity comparison. Agents contract with 50+ carriers including Aetna, Humana, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna, Mutual of Omaha, Pacific Life, and Transamerica via the SureLC online platform, with appointment processing taking 8-10 minutes.

Sunderland monetizes primarily through commission overrides paid by insurance carriers on premiums placed by its agent network, supplemented by pass-through fees for certifications (AHIP Medicare Certification $125 with a $50 Simplicity discount; NABIP $100) and training/CE services, while most digital sales tools are provided at no cost to agents as a freemium acquisition funnel. The company is privately held, headquartered at 2102 Great Northern Drive N, Fargo, ND, operates with 11-50 employees, and reports no disclosed revenue or funding rounds. Customer segments are horizontal: independent insurance agents (SMB/individual), high-income individuals ($100k+ household income, ages 18-65) targeted for the Kai-Zen accumulation strategy, and Medicare beneficiaries served via the Medicare Exchange. Go-to-market is multi-modal, combining self-serve digital channels (Agent Center, online contracting, certification portals) with a high-touch human layer of Advisor Development Consultants (ADCs) whose team carries 100+ years of combined experience.

Name

Sunderland Group

Legal name

Simplicity Financial Marketing Holdings Inc.

Website

https://sunderlandgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sunderland Group is a Fargo, ND-based Field Marketing Organization (FMO), subsidiary of Simplicity Group, that provides independent insurance agents with carrier contracting across 50+ insurers and proprietary digital sales, quoting, and enrollment tools for life, annuity, Medicare, and IUL products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Insurance Distribution Services

NAICS

Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (524210)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411), Life Insurance (6311)

akta.pro primary industry

Medicare Plan Distribution & Brokerage (Captive, Independent, FMOs) (FSAIAGAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Group Annuities (Employer/Institutional) (FSAIACAI)

Keywords

• Field marketing organization
• Insurance distribution services
• Carrier contracting support
• Insurance sales platforms
• Medicare enrollment tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Fargo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Commission Overrides from Insurance Carriers: As a Field Marketing Organization (FMO), Sunderland Group earns commission overrides from insurance carriers based on volume of business placed by their network of independent agents. This is a recurring revenue stream based on insurance premium payments processed through their agent network.
2. Agent Support and Contracting Services: The company provides contracting, training, and support services to independent agents, earning overrides from carrier partnerships established through their distribution network.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sunderland Group operates as a Field Marketing Organization (FMO) that supports independent insurance agents and financial advisors by providing contracting access with 50+ insurance carriers, proprietary digital sales platforms (LifeLink, AnnuityLink, Medicare Exchange, Simplicity Agent Center), training, compliance-driven marketing programs, and dedicated Advisor Development Consultant (ADC) support for selling annuity, life, health, Medicare, disability, and long-term care products.

Product overview

Sunderland Group, a Simplicity Company, operates as a Field Marketing Organization (FMO) providing independent insurance and financial agents with a comprehensive platform of sales tools and carrier contracting services. The offering consists of a unified core platform (Simplicity Agent Center) integrated with specialized product modules: digital sales tools (LifeLink™ for life insurance, AnnuityLink™ for annuities), Medicare enrollment solutions (Medicare Exchange), retirement accumulation strategies (Kai-Zen® with ILIA® management), advanced sales software (Simplicity Ensight for IUL, Tax-Free Retirement prospecting), and annuity analytics tools (Annuity Rate Watch, IndexAlyzer). These tools work together to support the complete insurance sales workflow from prospecting and quoting through enrollment and policy servicing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Simplicity Agent Center: Online platform providing comprehensive view of all business with Simplicity, including paid and pending policies, pending and issued contracts across annuity, life, DI, and LTC product lines.
• Medicare Exchange
• Kai-Zen Strategy
• ILIA
• LifeLink
• AnnuityLink
• Annuity Rate Watch (ARW)
• IndexAlyzer
• Simplicity Tax-Free Retirement
• Simplicity Ensight Software

Products and services

• Simplicity Agent Center

Quantifiable outcome

• Potential for 60-100% more retirement accumulation through Kai-Zen leveraged strategy
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Simplicity GroupflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 December 2021Simplicity Group acquired Sunderland Group, making it 'A Simplicity Company.' Simplicity Group is described as one of the nation's largest and fastest growing companies in the product distribution industry. This partnership provides Sunderland Group access to extensive carrier relationships, additional product choices, and marketing opportunities while maintaining their existing business operations.
• NIW CompaniescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSunderland Group holds a preferred designation to NIW Companies offerings as a preferred partner. This provides unlimited support with NIW products, services, updates, webinars, marketing material, and private trainings. The Kai-Zen strategy is exclusive to NIW.
• 50+ Insurance CarrierscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSunderland Group maintains partnerships with over 50 insurance carriers including Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Humana, United Healthcare, Mutual of Omaha, Transamerica, Pacific Life, Lincoln National, Protective, Symetra, and many more. These carrier partnerships enable agents to offer a wide range of annuity, life, health, and Medicare products.
• EnsightcoreTechnology or IntegrationSimplicity Group's partnership with Ensight provides exclusive IUL (Indexed Universal Life) digital sales platform software. This partnership helps financial professionals address consumer concerns about debt and taxes with a simplified IUL sales process.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• LIMRA: Industry research and training organization that Sunderland integrates with for annuity training and producer number verification. Connected as an enabling infrastructure/adherence provider rather than a competitor.

Broad incumbents

• AmeriLife: Large diversified insurance distributor and FMO with multi-product offerings and proprietary agent tools. Comparable in scale, carrier breadth, and tool-driven agent support model.
• Integrity Marketing Group: Large publicly traded distributor of life, health, and annuity products through independent agents and FMOs. Comparable as a scaled FMO/distributor operating with similar carrier override economics across the same product lines Sunderland sells.
• SelectQuote: Direct-to-consumer insurance distributor with strong Medicare focus. Comparable in Medicare Advantage distribution scale and the consumer-facing technology approach Sunderland brings to the agent channel via Medicare Exchange.
• Fidelity & Guaranty Life (FGL): Major annuity and life insurance carrier with strong FMO/wholesale relationships. Comparable as both a Sunderland carrier partner and a competitor in fixed indexed annuity distribution channels.
• Simplicity Group: Sunderland Group's parent company and one of the largest Field Marketing Organizations in the US. Directly comparable as both an FMO platform and the source of most of Sunderland's proprietary sales tools and carrier relationships.
• GoHealth: Medicare-focused insurance distribution platform with proprietary technology for quoting and enrollment. Comparable to Sunderland's Medicare Exchange given similar focus on tech-enabled Medicare enrollment, though operating via a different distribution model (call center + digital).

Direct peers

• Crump Life Insurance Services: Wholesale life insurance distributor supporting independent agents with multi-carrier access, case design, and contracting—directly overlapping Sunderland's LifeLink and contracting value proposition.
• Ash Brokerage: Wholesale life insurance and annuity distributor serving independent advisors with case design, underwriting, and proprietary sales tools. Directly comparable to Sunderland in supporting agent productivity across life and annuity products.
• Dovato Insurance Group: Independent insurance marketing organization supporting agents across life, health, Medicare, and annuity lines with contracting and back-office services. Comparable as an IMO/FMO peer with similar multi-line distribution model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sunderlandgroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sunderland Group