Business Moves
Marsh & McLennan, JLT
Marsh & McLennan Inc. agreed to buy Jardine Lloyd Thompson for about $5.7 billion to expand its global offering of reinsurance and consulting services.
New York-based Marsh said the purchase of JLT will strengthen its specialty risk broking, expand its global reinsurance network and enhance its position in Asia and Latin America. The companies estimate that Marsh & McLennan’s revenue will rise to about $17 billion as a result of the deal.
JLT CEO Dominic Burke will join Marsh & McLennan as vice chairman and a member of the executive committee.
JLT’s independent directors were advised by J.P. Morgan Cazenove and Simon Robertson Associates, and Marsh & McLennan was advised by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Beals Insurance Agency, Northern United Agents Alliance
Beals Insurance Agency LLC has joined the Northern United Agents Alliance as a participating member.
With offices in Bedford and Londonderry, N.H., Beals Insurance is a full-service independent insurance agency specializing in home, auto, commercial and life insurance.
Headquartered in Concord, N.H., the NUAA is an alliance of independent insurance agents in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont dedicated to providing client service through the group’s relationships with its insurance carrier partners.
The NUAA partnership was formed in 2011 by four independent insurance agencies and has grown to include 35 agencies.
Seeman Holtz, Ritman & Associates
Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty Inc. has acquired Noblesville, Indiana-based Ritman & Associates Inc., which specializes in professional liability insurance.
Jennifer Ritman has built a boutique insurance agency specializing in all things property/casualty with an emphasis on professional liability insurance for attorneys.
Ritman & Associates has been serving Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Missouri, Arizona, Tennessee, Florida, Maryland, Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi and Virginia for nearly 30 years.
Ritman and her team will be leading the lawyer and business division of Seeman Holtz.
Florida-based Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty targets high-quality independent agencies for geographic expansion and continued growth throughout the United States.
Higginbotham, Hull Agency
Higginbotham and the Hull Agency have merged their insurance services operations in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Hull Agency will partner with Higginbotham’s downtown offices to service more than 300 commercial and personal property/casualty clients and expand its services to include employee benefits.
Higginbotham, headquartered in Fort Worth, is growing by uniting with other independent brokers that have strong reputations and a commitment to offering all-inclusive insurance and financial services.
The Hull Agency will use Higginbotham’s resources to begin offering employee benefit services to its clients.
The Hull Agency is an independent commercial and personal property/casualty insurance brokerage firm in Benbrook, Texas. The family-owned and operated agency opened in 1976. It primarily serves small to midsize businesses and high net-worth individuals.
Brian Hull will continue serving his clients as a vice president at Higginbotham.
Holman, Murray Insurance Agency
Holman Insurance Services, a full-service brokerage offering personal and commercial insurance products headquartered in New Jersey, has acquired The Murray Insurance Agency, an independent insurance agency headquartered in Longwood, Florida, with offices in 11 other locations throughout the state.
The commercial segment of Holman Insurance Services has operated in Florida since 2016, but the company wanted regional expertise as it introduced its lineup of personal coverage in Florida, according to President Steve Durdin.
Holman Insurance Services will officially roll out its personal insurance division in Florida and continue to expand its platform of personal and commercial lines of products on a national level.
Moving forward, Murray Insurance agency will operate under the Holman Insurance name.
Holman Insurance Services, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Holman Enterprises in Maple Shade, New Jersey. Holman Enterprises is a global organization that has provided automotive services for more than 90 years.
Hub, Harman Agency
Hub International Ltd. has acquired the assets of Harman Agency LLC.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Pepper Harman, owner of Harman Agency, will join Hub Northwest and report to Garth Hamilton, chief sales officer of Hub Northwest.
Harman Agency has offices in Cottonwood and Orofino, Idaho, and specializes in crop, farm and ranch, and livestock insurance.
Chicago, Illinois-based Hub is a global insurance broker providing property/casualty, life and health, employee benefits, investment and risk management products and services.
Worldwide Facilities, McClelland and Hine
Los Angeles-based Worldwide Facilities LLC announced plans to acquire managing general agent and excess and surplus lines broker, McClelland and Hine Inc. and McClelland & Hine Trucking Underwriters LLC (collectively, MHI), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.
MHI Principals Gill Hine and Amicia Hine and their team will join Worldwide Facilities.
MHI began writing business in San Antonio in 1982 and later expanded to Houston, Dallas and Atlanta.
Worldwide Facilities is a national wholesale insurance broker and managing general agent that has been in business since 1970. Its brokers and underwriters provide expertise in a wide range of specialty lines.
Marsh, Berry & Company Inc. served as the financial advisor to MHI.
The acquisition, which is subject to certain conditions, is expected to be completed within the next 30 days.
Brown & Brown of Kentucky Inc., F&I Resources
Brown & Brown of Kentucky Inc., a subsidiary of Brown & Brown Inc., has acquired substantially all of the assets of F&I Resources, a Westborough, Mass.-based company specializing in helping automotive dealers form and manage reinsurance companies and drive performance.
F&I Resources was founded in 1993 and provides F&I performance management for auto dealers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states through F&I sales training and auto-related warranty products.
Following the transaction, the F&I Resources team will become part of the Brown & Brown auto, RV and powersports practice, which operates under the leadership of Mike Neal, president of Brown & Brown of Kentucky Inc.
FBinsure, Jose S. Castelo Insurance Agency
FBinsure has acquired the Jose S. Castelo Insurance Agency, an independent agency located in New Bedford, Dartmouth, and Fall River, Mass.
Established in 1981 by current President Jose S. Castelo, the agency provides personal and business insurance to nearly 5,000 clients while also offering real estate and mortgage services. Going forward, Castelo will maintain a role within the agency throughout the process to ensure a smooth transition to FBinsure.
Following the acquisition, Castelo and his family will continue to own and operate ERA, The Castelo Group Real Estate and Castle Mortgage Brokerage Inc.
This serves as the fourth acquisition for FBinsure in the past four years. It now has 11 total locations throughout Bristol and Plymouth Counties, including its offices in Taunton, Attleboro, Middleboro, Dighton, Rehoboth, East Freetown and New Bedford.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., United Dealer Services LLC
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired United Dealer Services LLC. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Based in Highland Mills, N.Y., United Dealer Services LLC is a retail insurance broker and program administrator. It provides a range of insurance coverages to franchised auto dealerships in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Michigan, Virginia, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and Pennsylvania. It is also a program administrator for franchised auto dealers in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
Principals Randolph T. and Dustin Winston will remain in their current location under the direction of Dan Tropp, head of Gallagher’s mid-Atlantic retail property and casualty brokerage operations.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, is headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.
USI Insurance Services, The Gaudreau Group
USI Insurance Services, an insurance brokerage and risk management company headquartered in Valhalla, N.Y., has acquired Wilbraham, Mass.-based The Gaudreau Group.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1921, The Gaudreau Group is a commercial insurance, employee benefits, personal risk and financial services firm insuring more than 6,000 businesses and families across 14 states.
Jules O. Gaudreau, president of The Gaudreau Group, is a third-generation member of the Gaudreau family to lead the company. Gaudreau will join USI’s New England regional management team as president of the company’s Springfield, Mass., office.
AssuredPartners, Roemer, Sunforest Transportation Insurance
AssuredPartners Inc. has acquired Roemer Insurance in conjunction with Sunforest Transportation Insurance Group, both located in Toledo, Ohio.
The company was founded in 1934 by Wellington F. Roemer and has maintained a focus on servicing the trucking industry while over the years branching into additional lines of coverage.
The team of 26 will remain under the current organizational structure under the
leadership of President and CEO Rocky Roemer, COO Michael Lawrence and STIG President Dennis Schwartz.
Roemer Insurance currently reports annualized revenues of $4 million.
AssuredPartners is headquartered in Lake Mary, Florida.