By Lane Gordon, 733Park. Updated September 15, 2026.
733Park's rule of thumb: insurtech and healthcare IT SaaS companies sell to carriers, brokers, payers, incumbent software platforms and the private equity consolidators in each vertical, and those buyers underwrite four things horizontal SaaS buyers do not: regulatory exposure, data rights, integration depth with the incumbent systems, and retention inside a small set of large accounts.
Insurtech and healthcare IT are the two verticals where founders most often bring us a public SaaS multiple and a horizontal SaaS playbook, and where both are least useful. The buyer set is specific, the diligence questions are different, and the value of the company sits in things a horizontal buyer would not even ask about. This guide covers both verticals because the buyers, the underwriting and the process design rhyme.
Who buys
Insurtech. Carriers and MGAs buying distribution or underwriting technology. Brokers and benefits platforms buying workflow and enrollment tools. Payments and fintech acquirers buying premium-finance and claims-payment rails. Private equity platforms rolling up agency-management, benefits-administration and policy-administration software.
Healthcare IT. EHR and practice-management incumbents buying attach products for their installed base. Payers and their vendors buying analytics and payment integrity. Revenue-cycle and patient-payments platforms buying front-end tools. PE-backed platforms in every specialty, from dental to behavioral health to veterinary.
In both verticals the premium bid usually comes from a strategic that already sells to your customers and can attach your product to its contracts on day one, because for that buyer your revenue is worth more than it is to you.
What buyers underwrite
| What they check | What good looks like | What it costs you if it is missing |
|---|---|---|
| Regulatory exposure | HIPAA, state insurance and licensing obligations documented, controls in place, no open findings | A precondition, not a bonus; gaps become escrows or a walked deal |
| Data rights | Clear ownership of the data the product touches, rights that transfer with the company | Ambiguity is a price cut, because the buyer cannot use what it cannot own |
| Integration depth | Certified integrations with EHRs, agency-management systems or carrier cores | Thin integration means low switching cost, and buyers pay for switching cost |
| Retention in concentrated accounts | Multi-year contracts and net revenue retention above 100% inside the top five accounts | Logo count does not save you; one lost anchor account is a repricing |
How valuation differs
Start from the private SaaS bands in SaaS valuation multiples 2026 and adjust. Regulated-vertical SaaS with certified integrations and multi-year contracts trades at the top of its ARR band or above it, and it sits firmly in the AI-resilient bucket buyers now sort software into, because compliance, data rights and integrations are exactly the things AI coding tools cannot rebuild in a weekend. Products with thin integration and one or two anchor customers trade below their band. Payments attach (premium finance, patient payments, claims disbursement) adds a turn when the attach rate is real; the mechanics are in embedded payments M&A.
The process
Because the buyer set is specific and small, process design matters more than in horizontal SaaS: the right twelve conversations, not two hundred. Which carriers or platforms have an integration gap you fill, which PE consolidators are mid-roll-up in your specialty, which payments acquirers want your rail. That is where sector knowledge earns its keep, and it is the difference between a process that produces one bid and one that produces three.
About 733Park
733Park is a boutique M&A advisory firm for payments, fintech, AI and SaaS companies, with 25 years of payments M&A expertise, 200+ closed transactions and $10B+ in transaction volume. Clients have enterprise values of $5M to $350M and work directly with Lane Gordon and the principals, not junior associates. 733Park provides sell-side advisory, buy-side advisory and consulting on growth strategy and exit readiness, with roots in merchant portfolios and ISOs. Current engagements include employee-benefits brokerage software; see current offerings.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the best M&A advisor for selling an insurtech company?
An advisor who already knows the carriers, MGAs, brokers, benefits platforms and PE consolidators buying in the vertical and will run the process personally. 733Park sells insurance-distribution, benefits and healthcare workflow software companies with a senior partner on every engagement.
How are healthcare IT SaaS companies valued?
On the private SaaS ARR bands, adjusted up for certified integrations, multi-year contracts and clean compliance, and down for anchor-customer concentration and data-rights ambiguity.
Who buys insurtech and healthcare IT companies?
Carriers, brokers, payers, incumbent software platforms and PE-backed consolidators. The premium bid usually comes from a strategic already selling to your customers.
What do regulated-vertical buyers underwrite that horizontal buyers do not?
Regulatory exposure, data rights, integration depth and retention inside a small set of large accounts.
Related reading: choosing an M&A advisor for an insurtech company and M&A advisory for healthcare IT and health tech SaaS.
More questions? Browse the 733Park M&A FAQ for straight answers on process, fees, confidentiality, and timing.