Business Moves

Brown & Brown, DiMartino

J. Scott Penny, regional executive vice president of Florida-based Brown & Brown Inc., and Gregory P. DiMartino, president of DiMartino Associates Inc. of Seattle, announced the acquisition of the insurance agency and brokerage business-related assets of DiMartino Associates Inc. by Brown & Brown of Washington Inc., a subsidiary of Brown & Brown Inc.

Founded in 1990, DiMartino Associates has annual revenues of about $4.3 million and offers employee benefit solutions, including plan design and selection, marketing, employee and plan participant communications, and compliance support services. The agency has expertise providing employee benefits products and consulting services to Taft-Hartley Act union trusts, multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs) and other trusts and associations.

Based in Seattle, the agency serves clients throughout Washington and the western United States. Greg DiMartino and his staff will continue to operate from their existing Seattle office.

The selling entity’s DiMartino Financial Services division was not part of this transaction and will continue to operate from its existing Seattle location.

Brown & Brown and its subsidiaries offer insurance and reinsurance products and services, as well as risk management, third-party administration, managed health care, and Medicare set-aside services and programs. The company provides service to business, public entity, individual, trade and professional association clients nationwide.

InsureZone, CMS Agency

InsureZone Inc. purchased 100 percent of the assets of CMS Agency Inc. a wholesaler based in Las Vegas. The transaction gives InsureZone, through its wholesale subsidiary AgentSecure, the opportunity to expand its national platform in a number of western states by bringing new products and carriers to the existing agency partners of CMS. In addition, AgentSecure strengthens its offering with each of its national and regional carriers. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The CMS office will remain in the Las Vegas area, but the day-to-day operations will be managed from the InsureZone/AgentSecure service center in Ft. Worth, Texas. After the acquisition, AgentSecure will have more than 2,000 active agency members in 48 states around the United States with offices in: Ft. Worth, Atlanta, Chicago, Oelwein, Iowa, Las Vegas and Henderson, Nev.

“This acquisition is the first step in a growth strategy for InsureZone that we believe will result in the company reaching $100 million in premium over the next two years,” said John Pergande, CEO of InsureZone. “We believe there are a substantial number of brick and mortar wholesalers around the country that cannot afford to invest the dollars needed to offer the ease of doing business that is required in today’s competitive insurance marketplace. As a result we are actively looking to buy or partner with many different kinds of wholesale and agency operations.”

The other aspect of InsureZone’s wholesale development strategy is to broaden its insurance offering away from just standard lines products. A recent technology contract signed by InsureZone will enable the company to offer excess and surplus lines insurance products along with the standard lines.

LIG Marine Managers

LIG Marine Managers opened a new division, LIG West, and branch office located in the Financial District of San Francisco. LIG West will operate in the 11 western states.

“This new division will provide LIG West Coast agents with access to the full portfolio of LIG Marine Managers and LIG Program Managers products,” said Karen Tischler, marketing director of LIG who will be based out of the San Francisco office.

LIG President Ian Greenway added, “The opening of this office on the West Coast brings us to the position of being the National Commercial Marine and Longshore MGA with local presence on the East Coast, West Coast, Gulf and London, providing agents and brokers immediate access to local offices.”