Independence Holding Company

What Independence Holding Company does

Trove Group, Inc., the operating insurance distribution subsidiary of Independence Holding Company (founded 1980, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut), is a private insurance agency and Field Marketing Organization that connects independent insurance brokers, agencies, and affinity groups with more than 20 top-rated insurance carriers across the United States. The company was formerly known as IHC Specialty Benefits, Inc. and was rebranded to Trove Group, with operations centered at 5353 Wayzata Blvd., Suite 300, St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Trove is licensed to distribute products in all 50 U.S. states and offers a portfolio spanning health, dental, vision, short-term medical, critical illness, accident, and Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA) coverage.

The company's core technology asset is Lucie, an Enhanced Direct Enrollment (EDE) platform that enables brokers and agencies to shop health, ancillary, and supplemental coverage together in a single integrated cart. Lucie provides real-time quotes, side-by-side product comparisons, and streamlined quoting workflows, functioning as the technology layer that supports broker productivity across multiple carrier partners. Trove complements the platform with structured partner support services, including regular training webinars with carrier representatives and dedicated one-on-one account management for brokers and agencies.

Trove generates revenue primarily through commissions paid by carrier partners on policies placed through its distribution network, making it a transaction-fee business model. Its go-to-market is partner-centric: the company recruits and enables individual brokers, mid-market insurance agencies, and enterprise-level affinity organizations and associations, providing them with carrier access, licensing support, technology tools, and concierge-level service. The combination of national FMO scale with boutique-agency support positioning is central to its value proposition, although no revenue, headcount, or per-carrier commission economics are disclosed in the available data.

Name

Independence Holding Company

Legal name

Trove Group, Inc.

Website

https://ihcgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Trove Group, Inc., the operating insurance distribution subsidiary of Independence Holding Company, is a private Field Marketing Organization that connects independent brokers, agencies, and affinity groups with 20+ insurance carriers across all 50 U.S. states, distributing health, dental, vision, supplemental, and ICHRA products via its Lucie EDE platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Insurance Distribution Services

NAICS

Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (524210)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)

akta.pro primary industry

Individual Health Insurance Administration (TPA/ASO) (FSAIAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Dental Benefit Administration (DBA) & ASO/TPA for Dental (HLAEAIAJ)

Keywords

• Insurance distribution
• Field marketing organization
• Insurance brokerage services
• EDE enrollment platform
• Ancillary insurance products

Headquarters

HQ city

Stamford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Insurance Distribution/Commission Revenue: Trove generates revenue by connecting insurance buyers (brokers, agencies, affinity groups) with insurance carriers. The company earns commissions from carrier partners for policies placed through its platform. Revenue is driven by volume of policies written and variety of insurance products (health, dental, vision, supplemental, ICHRA).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Trove Group operates as a Field Marketing Organization (FMO) and licensed insurance agency that distributes health, dental, vision, short-term, critical illness, accident, and ICHRA insurance products through independent brokers and agencies across all 50 U.S. states. The company provides brokers access to 20+ top-rated carrier partners, dedicated partner support, regular training webinars, and complimentary access to its proprietary Lucie Enhanced Direct Enrollment (EDE) platform for unified quoting and shopping.

Product overview

Trove Group operates as an insurance distribution platform offering a unified ecosystem for brokers and agencies. The core platform, Lucie, serves as an EDE (Enhanced Direct Enrollment) platform enabling users to shop health, ancillary, and supplemental coverage in one cart. The company provides access to 20+ top-rated carriers across all 50 states, offering products including Health, Dental, Vision, Short-term, Critical illness, and Accident insurance. Services are targeted at individual brokers, agencies, and affinity groups, combining national FMO scale with boutique agility.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Short-term Insurance
• Critical Illness Insurance
• Accident Insurance
• ICHRA (Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement) ICHRA insurance products offered through carrier partners via Trove's broker and agency channel, enabling employers to reimburse employees for individual health coverage.
• Lucie EDE Platform A full Enhanced Direct Enrollment (EDE) platform that enables insurance brokers and agencies to shop health, ancillary, and supplemental coverage together in one cart. Provides real-time quotes, side-by-side product comparisons, and integrated quoting workflows. Offered complimentary to Trove's broker and agency partners.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• 20+ Insurance CarrierscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTrove Group has established relationships with 20+ top-rated insurance carriers offering health, dental, vision, supplemental, short-term, critical illness, accident, and ICHRA products. These carrier partnerships provide Trove's broker and agency network with access to a comprehensive product portfolio across all 50 states.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• HealthMarkets: HealthMarkets is one of the largest U.S. FMOs connecting individuals and families with health, Medicare, and ancillary insurance through a national agent network. It is directly comparable to Trove as a similarly structured FMO distributing multiple carriers' products through independent producers.
• SelectQuote: SelectQuote is a direct-to-consumer insurance distribution platform focused primarily on senior market life and health products, with growing ICHRA/employer offerings. Comparable to Trove in the multi-carrier distribution and technology-platform orientation.
• Benefytt Technologies: Benefytt is a health insurance distribution and technology platform serving individual consumers and partners with health, Medicare, and ancillary products. Comparable to Trove in leveraging technology to broker multi-carrier health and supplemental coverage.
• SmartFinancial: SmartFinancial is a digital insurance comparison platform distributing auto, home, and health/ancillary products through a national agent network. Comparable to Trove in the tech-enabled, multi-carrier distribution model.
• GoHealth: GoHealth is an insurance marketplace that distributes Medicare, ACA, and ancillary products through a combination of carrier-direct and partner channels. Comparable to Trove as a tech-enabled multi-carrier distribution platform targeting individual insurance buyers.
• Word & Brown: Word & Brown is a national general agent and FMO providing brokers and agencies access to multiple carrier products including health, dental, vision, and group benefits. Comparable to Trove's agency-segment offering of multi-carrier access and back-office support.
• Connected Benefits Group: Connected Benefits Group operates as a national FMO/GA distributing health, ancillary, and voluntary benefits through independent brokers and agencies. Comparable to Trove's mix of individual and group benefits distribution across multiple carriers.
• eHealth: eHealth operates one of the largest U.S. online health insurance marketplaces, distributing individual, family, Medicare, and ancillary plans directly to consumers and via partners. Comparable to Trove in multi-carrier distribution of health and ancillary products at national scale.

Broad incumbents

• MediaAlpha: MediaAlpha operates a programmatic customer-acquisition platform for insurance and other consumer verticals, monetizing consumer demand for carriers and distributors. Comparable to Trove as an enabling infrastructure layer in the insurance distribution value chain, though MediaAlpha does not itself distribute policies.
• Insurance Pipeline / Marketing General Agency (MGA) peers: Marketing General Agency (MGA) is a long-established FMO distributing primarily voluntary/worksite products to brokers and affinity groups. Comparable to Trove in the FMO business model and affinity-group distribution orientation, though more concentrated in voluntary benefits.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Independence Holding Company