Business Moves

Town & Country, Whittington Insurance

Houston-based Town & Country Insurance Agency Inc., a subsidiary of Encore Bancshares Inc. and an affiliate of Encore Bank N.A., has completed its acquisition of Whittington Insurance Agency.

Whittington Insurance Agency is an independent insurance agency headquartered in League City, Texas, with an additional office in Katy, Texas. The agency’s focus is on all lines of personal insurance coverage.

Town & Country Insurance Agency specializes in commercial and personal property and casualty coverages.

Whittington Insurance Agency will retain its employees in League City, as well as focus on expanding Town & Country’s client base to West Houston and the Katy area.

Lucien Wright Insurance Services

Fort Worth, Texas-based independent property/casualty insurance agency, Lucien Wright Insurance Services Inc., announced it has moved its offices after being at the same location for 24 years. The firm has relocated to 6000 Western Place, Suite 100, Fort Worth, Texas 76107.

Founded in 1937, Lucien Wright is one of the oldest locally owned insurance agencies in Fort Worth.

Arthur J. Gallagher, Detlefs Johnson & Partners

Illinois-based insurance brokerage and risk management services firm, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., acquired Detlefs Johnson & Partners, located in Baton Rouge, La. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

With operations dating to the 1970s, Detlefs Johnson & Partners offers a wide range of employee benefit consultation, human resource and insurance benefit brokerage services for their clients throughout the southern and central United States. The firm specializes in group health, life, disability, dental, retirement planning and human resource services.

Philip Detlefs, Gary Johnson, Amanda Hamilton and their associates will continue to operate in their current location under the direction of John Neumaier, South Central regional executive vice president of Gallagher’s employee benefit consulting and brokerage operations.

The Woodlands Financial Group

The Woodlands Financial Group Inc. (TWFG), a retail and managing general insurance agency headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, has opened four new branch locations in four states.

Katlyn Sebera has opened a new branch in Cypress, Texas. Sebera has three years of insurance experience and was previously with State Farm.

James Goodwin has opened an office in LaGrange, Ga. Goodwin comes to TWFG from Allstate, where he was employed for six years and was a member of its Honor Ring, Chairman’s Club and Regional Champions.

Joseph Farizo has opened a new location in Baton Rouge, La. Farizo attended Louisiana State University and is Majoring in Finance at the E.J. Ourso College of Business in Louisiana. He is beginning his insurance career with TWFG.

Vlada Denisova has opened a new branch in Los Angeles, Calif. Denisova comes from Allstate where she was employed for eight years. She is fluent in Russian.

Roach Howard Smith & Barton, TRIPS

In recognition of her leadership as CEO and move to chairman of the board, Dallas-based independent insurance agency, Roach Howard Smith & Barton, has established a scholarship honoring Karen K. Farris.

The fund was established with Texas Risk & Insurance Professional Society (TRIPS) and will be awarded to students majoring in risk and insurance management at universities over the next four years.

The first year, two scholarships of $1,250 will be awarded to students majoring in insurance and risk management at the University of North Texas.

Farris said she’s honored by the establishment of the scholarship in her name and hopes “that students will recognize the many opportunities available in the independent agency system and choose to join our profession.”

“TRIPS mission is to facilitate the entry of new talent into the insurance industry by supporting insurance education in Texas,” added TRIPS chairman Jack Gibson, “and, since providing scholarships to students majoring in risk and insurance draws more students into the industry, scholarship programs such as this one make a lot of sense.”