Marsh & McLennan Agency Buys New Jersey’s NIA Group

Marsh & McLennan Agency has acquired The NIA Group, one of the largest independent insurance agencies in the Northeast.

Terms of the deal were not released.

Paramus, New Jersey-based NIA, founded in 1926, has annual revenue of $62 million, 400 employees and offices in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Florida. The acquisition also includes the New York City office of Kornreich-NIA.

The acquisition provides a large, Northeast base for the 14-month-old Marsh & McLennan Agency, a subsidiary of mega-brokers Marsh. It’s the second major acquisition the company has made in recent months. The first, Houston-based Insurance Alliance, gave the company a major presence in the Southwest.

Marsh plans to use its agency division to build a national business focusing on mid-sized companies.

“The addition of The NIA Group and Kornreich-NIA to our firm gives us a strong operation in the New York metropolitan area and Florida,” said David Eslick, chairman and CEO of Marsh & McLennan Agency.

Paul Gross, chairman of The NIA Group, added that “(w)e are pleased to be joining with David and the leadership of Marsh & McLennan Agency and look forward to working as part of the team to create one of the preeminent national organizations in our industry.”