Online HR benefits services firm Zenefits will exit insurance brokerage and instead partner with local and regional broker partners.

Zenefits launched its new Certified Broker Partner Program with a partnership with Atlanta-based OneDigital, a national employee benefits-only company. The company said it is the first of several partnerships with national and regional brokerage firms.

This marks the latest attempt by Zenefits to regain its footing after it was found to have flouted state insurance laws and lacked proper controls, Reuters reported. Zenefits in November reached a settlement with the California Insurance Commission for multiple license violations resulting in a $7 million penalty, of the largest penalties for licensing violations ever assessed in the department’s history.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-zenefits-broker/software-startup-zenefits-changes-course-

“The situation now we find ourselves is a place where it makes more sense to be creative advocates for brokers and not adversaries,” CEO Jay Fulcher told the San Francisco Chronicle. “At some point, we’re going to need to embrace that community if we’re actually going to expand our market opportunity.”