Business Moves

Arthur J. Gallagher

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Spataro Insurance Agency Inc. of Burnt Hills, N.Y.

Founded in 1932, Spataro Insurance Agency is a retail insurance broker providing property/casualty, risk management and personal lines insurance products and services for commercial and individual clients throughout the Northeast. The agency specializes in coverage for the manufacturing, technology, construction, restaurant and transportation industries, as well as for nonprofits, schools and municipalities.

Arthur J. Gallagher also announced its purchase of L&R Benefits LLC of Windsor, Conn. L&R Benefits provides employee benefit consultation, management and brokerage services for clients’ active and retired employees. The firm focuses on employee benefit compliance, design, financing, administration and communications.

BB&T, Woodbury & Co.

BB&T Insurance Services has acquired Woodbury & Co. of Wilmington, N.C., and Myrtle Beach, S.C. Terms were not disclosed.

Woodbury & Co. sells commercial property/casualty; employee benefits; individual life and health; personal lines; and professional liability throughout the Carolinas. The agency has more than 50 employees.

Woodbury & Co. was founded in 1932 by Louie E. Woodbury Jr. President Eugene Woodbury and Commercial Lines Manager Carolyn Finley will join the BB&T Insurance Services management team.

BB&T Insurance will combine its existing agencies in Wilmington and Myrtle

Beach with Woodbury & Co.

Raleigh, N.C.-based BB&T Insurance Holdings, a subsidiary of BB&T Corp., operates more than 100 insurance agencies through subsidiaries BB&T Insurance Services, BB&T Insurance Services of California, and McGriff, Seibels & Williams.

Higginbotham, Edgmon Insurance Agency

Independent insurance brokers Higginbotham, based in Ft. Worth, Texas, and Edgmon Insurance Agency, headquartered in Odessa, Texas, have merged operations.

Edgmon Insurance is a family-owned agency going on its third generation. Founded in 1986 by Pauline Appel, the agency was purchased by her son Tim Edgmon in 1996 and began operating under its current name providing commercial and personal lines of property/casualty insurance.

Tim Edgmon will continue managing the firm as Edgmon Insurance Agency from the location it has occupied at 4800 E. University Blvd for four years.

Higginbotham has more than 20 locations in Texas.

Aronson, Shuffain Insurance

Aronson Insurance, an independent insurance agency in Needham, Mass., has acquired Shuffain Insurance Agency of Sharon, Mass.

Aronson Insurance is an independent agency owned and operated by the Aronson family since 1919. The agency provides personal and business insurance. With a staff of more than 20 insurance professionals, Aronson Insurance represents more than 15 insurance companies and services more than 5,000 clients.

McGowan, Breed’s Hill

The McGowan Cos., based in Fairview Park, Ohio, has purchased the assets of Breed’s Hill Insurance Agency in Charlestown, Mass. Breed’s Hill will operate under the McGowan Risk Specialists (MRS) brand.

Established in 1996, Breed’s Hill is a managing general agency serving the New England habitational market and fits well with McGowan’s growth strategy in the real estate segment.

Hub International Midwest, Corporate Benefit Consultants

Insurance brokerage Hub International Ltd. announced that its subsidiary, Hub International Midwest (Hub Midwest), has acquired Corporate Benefit Consultants Inc., a Des Plaines, Ill.-based employee benefits insurance brokerage firm.

The CBC team will continue to operate from its Des Plaines office. CBC partners, Ted A. Reese, James M. Cornelius and Michael A. Traina and their team will be joining Hub Midwest.

Hub International is headquartered in Chicago.

Biglari Holdings, First Guard Insurance

Biglari Holdings in San Antonio, Texas, has acquired Venice, Florida-based First Guard Insurance Co. and its affiliate, 1st Guard Corp. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

First Guard Insurance is a direct underwriter of commercial trucking insurance selling physical damage and non-trucking liability insurance to truckers. First Guard will continue to be operated by its current management team led by CEO Edmund B. Campbell III in Venice.

Biglari Holdings Inc. subsidiaries are engaged in diverse business activities, including media, property/casualty insurance, and restaurants. Biglari’s subsidiary companies include Steak ‘n Shake Operations Inc. and Biglari Real Estate Development Corp.

Topics Texas