Business Moves

National

Marsh McLennan Agency, Graham Co.

Marsh McLennan Agency, a subsidiary of Marsh, acquired Graham Company, a risk management consultancy and independent insurance and employee benefits broker.

Founded in 1960, Graham Company specializes in providing business insurance, employee benefits, and surety brokerage services to companies in a range of high-risk industries, including construction, real estate, manufacturing and distribution, health and human services, and professional services. It ranked No. 40 in Insurance Journal’s 2022 Top Property/Casualty Agencies list.

All 215 Graham employees, including Ken Ewell, president and chief operating officer, and Bill Graham, chairman, will join Marsh McLennan Agency and continue to work from the Graham’s offices in Philadelphia and New York City.

East

World Insurance Associates, Young Insurance Agency Group

Insurance broker World Insurance Associates acquired the business of Young Insurance Agency Group Inc. of Portsmouth, Virginia.

Young Insurance, founded in 1973, offers business, personal and life and health insurance, as well as security services. William “Bill” Young is president.

World Insurance Associates is headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey.

Brown & Brown, New England Excess Exchange

Florida-based global insurance broker Brown & Brown Inc. has agreed to acquire Vermont-based wholesale broker New England Excess Exchange (NEEE).

The acquisition will be through Bridge Specialty Group, the wholesale insurance division of Brown & Brown.

Established in 1981 in Vermont, NEEE is wholesale managing general agency serving commercial and personal lines retail brokers and their clients in 15 states throughout the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions, from Maine to North Carolina.

NEEE will continue to operate from headquarters in Barre, Vermont, under the operational leadership of co-owner Todd Wood, while co-owner Ralf “Goober” Schaarschmidt will serve as an advisor to NEEE and Bridge Specialty Group. His parents, Ralf and Mari Schaarschmidt, founded NEEE in Montpelier in 1981. Wood joined the firm in 2019.

Brown & Brown has more than 500 locations worldwide. Bridge Specialty Group’s specialty and wholesale brands include Big Sky Underwriters, Braishfield, Hull & Co., MacDuff Underwriters, Morstan, South & Western, and Summit Risk Services.

Risk Strategies, Castle Rock Capacity

National specialty insurance broker Risk Strategies has acquired Castle Rock Capacity, a property/casualty insurance broker with a specialty in the construction, real estate and development industries.

Headquartered in New York City, Castle Rock was co-founded in 2006 by Jon Lipton, CEO and president. The firm’s offerings include builders risk, contractors insurance and bonds, general and product liability, restaurant, directors and officers, and home and auto insurance.

Lipton is an insurance industry veteran with 25 years of experience. His experience includes having served as an expert witness in construction, hospitality, real estate and product liability cases.

In addition to its focus on construction and real estate, Castle Rock also has business nutraceuticals, life sciences and professional services.

Boston-based Risk Strategies now has more than 30 specialty practices and 100 offices.

Midwest

ALKEME, Wiggins Farha Insurance Group

ALKEME recently acquired a pair of Midwestern agencies.

ALKEME added the Wiggins Farha Insurance Group, a full-service insurance agency operating out of Wichita, Kansas.

Wiggans Farha Insurance Group is an independent insurance agency serving the state of Kansas and the Midwest region as a subsidiary of Paul Kinan Insurance Group.

ALKEME also acquired The Milestone Company, a Cadiz, Ohio-based full-service insurance agency with additional offices in New Philadelphia and Steubenville, Ohio.Founded in 1946, the Milestone Agency is a fourth-generation, family-owned insurance agency that has been serving eastern Ohio with a wide variety of property and casualty insurance solutions to individuals, families and businesses.

ALKEME is based in Ladera Ranch, California and backed by GCP Capital Partners.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Hagan Insurance Group

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Hagan Insurance Group.

Hagan Insurance Group provides insurance member benefits and financial management to professional associations and affinity groups. Brian Hagan, Michael Murphy and their team will remain in their current location under the direction of Kevin Garvin, head of Affinity North America for Gallagher’s retail P/C brokerage operations.

Arthur J. Gallagher is an insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.

South Central

NR West, Foster Benefit Resources

NR West, the parent company of The Insurance Exchange, a Dallas-based general agency, acquired Foster Benefit Resources, a full-service general agency specializing in fully insured and self-funded employee benefits in North Texas.

Foster Benefits has a history of providing superior service to its clients through its dedicated team, a majority of whom have a tenure of 10-plus years. Moving forward, brokers can continue to expect the same industry-leading service and expertise, along with expanded resources and employer-benefit solutions.

Southeast

Hub International, Edbrooke/Stelcner and Associates

Global insurance broker Hub International Limited has acquired the assets of Edbrooke/Stelcner and Associates Inc. in Coral Gables, Florida.

Edbrooke/Stelcner is an employee benefits brokerage and consulting firm specializing in the aviation, hospitality and healthcare industries. Edbrooke/Stelcner provides benefits, human resource consulting, retirement plans, and life insurance programs to large employer groups throughout the Southeast.

President and co-founder Lissette Fernandez and the Edbrooke/Stelcner team will join Hub South Florida. The brokerage will be referred to as Edbrooke/Stelcner and Associates, a Hub International company.

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Hub has more than 16,000 employees in offices located throughout North America.

Tokio Marine HCC, Gulf Guaranty Employee Benefit Services

Tokio Marine HCC has agreed to acquire Gulf Guaranty Employee Benefit Services Inc., a Jackson, Mississippi-based third-party administrator and managing general underwriter that designs, underwrites and administers group gap medical plans for small and mid-sized businesses.

Gulf Guaranty’s group gap medical plan, called MedPlus, pays limited benefits for expenses otherwise covered by an employer’s primary medical plan, but not payable due to the deductible and co-insurance provisions of the primary plan.

Houston-based Tokio Marine HCC is a member of the Tokio Marine Group.

PointeNorth Insurance Group, Cooper Insurance & Associates

PointeNorth Insurance Group has acquired Cooper Insurance & Associates in McDonough, Georgia.

Cooper, founded in 1988, offers liability, physical damage, cargo, workers’ compensation and general liability insurance for the transportation industry across the South. Charles “Ed” Cooper, CEO, will continue to lead the agency and the firm will continue to operate under its name, but as part of PointeNorth.

PointeNorth, led by CEO Bill Skeeles, entered the transportation insurance business in 2015 with the acquisition of Caribou Insurance Agency. Since then, the firm has acquired four other agencies. The agency is headquartered in Atlanta.

West

Nexus Underwriting, Evolve Cyber Insurance Services

Nexus Underwriting completed its acquisition of Evolve Cyber Insurance Services in California.

Evolve is a cyber managing general agency. The company operates out of offices in California, New York and Texas, and has more than 3,000 broking partners nationally.

With its global headquarters in London, UK, Nexus Underwriting is an independent, specialty MGA with a focus on niche insurance classes of business. Nexus is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kentro Capital Limited.

Evertree Insurance Services, Alliance Insurance Services, The Banks Agency

Evertree Insurance Services LLC has acquired 1st American Insurance in Longmont, Colorado; Alliance Insurance Services in Arvada, Colorado; and The Banks Agency in Golden, Colorado.

Evertree has grown to more than 100 employees, acquiring seven independent agencies across the U.S., and has now established a Midwest, Mountain and Mid-Atlantic regional footprint. Evertree is a technology-enabled insurance brokerage specializing in personal lines.

1st American Insurance Agency provides risk management for a variety of personal and business insurance needs. Alliance Insurance Services was founded in 1992, and it also has locations throughout Metro Denver, as well as Northern Colorado. The Banks Agency is a boutique risk management consultancy and insurance brokerage firm servicing clients in multiple states.

ALKEME; Paul Kinan Insurance Group

ALKEME acquired the Paul Kinan Insurance Group in Placentia, California.

Paul Kinan Insurance group provides a variety of property/casualty insurance services to individuals, families and businesses.

ALKEME, based in Ladera Ranch, is backed by GCP Capital Partners.

McDonald-Leavitt Insurance, Leavitt United Insurance Services

McDonald-Leavitt Insurance has merged into another Leavitt Group affiliate, Leavitt United Insurance Services.

This merger is intended to provide Kim and David McDonald — McDonald-Leavitt founders and co-owners — with broader market access, a dedicated claims department, loss control services, and a robust risk management platform. Leavitt United Insurance Services will bring resources to McDonald-Leavitt’s Santa Rosa office while its staff, contact information, and physical location will remain unchanged.

Leavitt Group is a privately held insurance brokerage.

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