Business Moves

Eastern Insurance, Smith Buckley & Hunt

Eastern Insurance Group has acquired Smith Buckley & Hunt, an insurance agency based in Brockton, Mass.

Smith Buckley & Hunt was founded in 1875, and the Smith Family has owned the agency since 1922. The principals of the agency are MacKenzie Smith, James S. Smith and Christopher Sheppard.

Smith Buckley & Hunt’s office in Brockton will remain open and re-branded as an Eastern Insurance location later this year. Upon completion of the transaction, Eastern Insurance will have 24 locations in New England.

Following the merger, James Smith will remain with Eastern Insurance, serving as senior vice president of commercial insurance. Sheppard will continue as a senior vice president of sales.

For Eastern Insurance, the acquisition increases its customer base south of Boston, where it already has 10 locations. The move also strengthens Eastern Bank’s overall position in southeastern Massachusetts. In 2012, Eastern Bank acquired The Community Bank in Brockton. Eastern Insurance has completed more than 34 insurance agency acquisitions since 1994.

Eastern Insurance, based in Natick, Mass., is a subsidiary of Eastern Bank.

Capacity Coverage, Tri-Partners Field Claims Services

Capacity Coverage Co. of New Jersey Inc. announced that its affiliate company has made a strategic investment in Tri-Partners Field Claims Services in Warren, N.J.

Tri-Partners Field Claims Services was previously owned 50/50 by Fleming & Hall Administrators Inc. and RCA Insurance Group. Under the deal, Capacity Coverage is purchasing a third of Tri-Partners Field Claims Services – with Fleming & Hall Administrators, RCA Insurance Group and Capacity Coverage now each owning one-third of Tri-Partners. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Tri-Partners focuses on providing investigation and adjustment services to specialty insurance carriers throughout the United States.

Capacity Coverage Co. said that through this investment, it has partnered with Fleming & Hall and RCA to continue Tri-Partners’ growth in its national field claims service operation. Capacity Coverage is a specialty insurance and financial services organization headquartered in Mahwah, N.J., with more than 280 employees in 14 retail and wholesale offices.

Fleming & Hall is a privately held national third-party administration firm providing risk management, claims management and information management services to specialty and surplus lines insurance and Lloyd’s markets. Headquartered in Atlanta, Fleming & Hall has additional offices in New York, Georgia, Florida and California.

RCA, headquartered in Clifton, N.J., is a general agency and program manager, specializing in offering a package program to the restaurant/tavern market niche.

Hub International, E.J. Wells Insurance Agency

Hub International New England LLC, a subsidiary of global insurance broker Hub International Ltd., has acquired the assets of E.J. Wells Insurance Agency Inc., a Westford, Mass.-based insurance brokerage firm. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

The E.J. Wells operations will become part of Hub International New England’s existing office in Acton, Mass. In connection with the acquisition, Paul J. Coffey, president of E.J. Wells, will join Hub International New England as executive vice president.

Founded in 1900, E.J. Wells offers property/casualty, employee benefits and personal insurance to businesses and individuals located throughout the New England region. The E.J. Wells team has an expertise in providing specialty insurance, risk management and consulting services to the construction industry.

Maguire Agency, Kelly Agency

Roseville, Minn.-based Maguire Agency and the Kelly Agency, a St. Paul, Minn.-based commercial insurance agency, have joined forces.

Employees of the Kelly Agency, which is known as a specialist in construction insurance, joined Maguire Agency on April 1.

Maguire Agency offers property/casualty insurance, employee benefits, and personal insurance.

Keystone Insurers Group, Van Gundy Insurance

Normal, Ill.-based agency Van Gundy Insurance has joined Keystone Insurers Group as its newest franchise partner in Illinois.

Van Gundy Agency was founded in 1946 by Lander Van Gundy. With his roots in the harness racing industry, Van Gundy established a nationwide insurance network for insuring harness horses, stables and race tracks. Today the agency is under the management of six partners: David McGrew, Mark Brent, John Lenahan, Mike McNeely, Rod Brent and Mike McGrew.

Keystone Insurers Group was founded in 1983 and headquartered in Northumberland, Pa. KIG is owned by its franchise partners and employees in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana and Ohio.