Business Moves

Arthur J. Gallagher, The Plus Cos., Tri-State General

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired The Plus Cos. Inc. (TPC) in Bridgewater, N.J. Terms were not disclosed.

Established in 1985, TPC is a managing general agent and program manager that provides non-medical, professional liability and umbrella insurance products and services to independent agent and broker clients throughout the United States.

TPC specializes in liability programs for lawyers, architects, engineers, insurance agents and brokers, surplus lines brokers, managing general agents, and title insurance and escrow agents. TPC’s Robert Ciuffreda and his associates will continue to operate from their current location under the direction of Joel Cavaness, president of Risk Placement Services Inc., a subsidiary of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. also announced it has acquired Tri-State General in Salisbury, Md. Terms were not disclosed.

Established in 1979, Tri-State General is a specialty wholesale and managing general agency operation that places transportation, garage, professional liability, special events and property/casualty insurance for its retail insurance broker clients throughout Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Virginia, Ohio and Washington, D.C.

Tri-State General’s Edward Dickerson and his team will continue to operate from their Salisbury location also under the direction of Cavaness.

Headquartered in Itasca, Ill., Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. is an international insurance brokerage and risk management services firm.

Brown & Brown, Gaston & Associates

Brown & Brown of New York Inc., a subsidiary of Brown & Brown Inc., acquired certain assets of Gaston & Associates Inc. in Mount Kisco, N.Y. Terms were not disclosed.

With origins dating back to 1895, Gaston & Associates offers property/casualty and employee benefits insurance products and services to clients in New York and throughout the Northeast. The firm, through its InsureHedge division, has specialized in the private fund space since 1992. The firm has annual revenues of approximately $2.4 million.

As part of the transaction, Fred Gaston and his team will operate from Brown & Brown of New York’s existing Rye Brook, N.Y., location under the leadership of Markham F. Rollins III.

Florida-based Brown & Brown Inc., through its subsidiaries, offers a range of insurance and reinsurance products and related services.

Capacity Coverage, Mt. Pleasant

Capacity Coverage Co. of New Jersey Inc. said its New York City-based affiliate, ARM-Capacity of New York LLC, has acquired assets of Thornwood, N.Y.-based Mt. Pleasant Agency Inc.

This transaction was completed through a newly formed entity called Mt. Pleasant Capacity Agency LLC, which is jointly owned by ARM-Capacity of New York and by Joseph Picharallo and Keith Shaland, the managing partners of Mt. Pleasant Agency.

Mt. Pleasant sells a broad array of personal and commercial lines of insurance products from its offices in Westchester County in New York. The agency will continue to be located in its current offices.

Capacity Coverage said the transaction would allow the firm to expand its business operations into Westchester County.

Capacity Coverage is an insurance and financial services organization headquartered in Mahwah, N.J., with more than 280 employees in 14 retail and wholesale offices.

Broad Insurance Group, Hartselle Agency

Broad Insurance Group (BIG) has acquired Art Hartselle Agency Inc., a Seminole, Fla.-based commercial and personal lines property/casualty insurance agency.

The company said that Robert Southard, a Florida native and insurance executive, is being brought on as president.

The agency will continue to operate with its current staff out of its Seminole location.

Monsey, N.Y.-based Broad Insurance Group is a recently formed subsidiary of Broad Financial. BIG was developed with the goal of acquiring small- to mid-size property/casualty insurance agencies.

TWFG

The Woodlands Financial Group (TWFG) has added 10 more branch agencies in its home state of Texas.

TWFG now operates with more than 200 branch offices in Texas along with its headquarters in The Woodlands, just north of Houston. It now has 309 branches in 21 states reporting more than $337 million in premiums.

The company has close to 3,300 agents in 30 states, which includes both affiliated and wholesale agents, and TWFG’s headquarters office offers policies in 49 of the 50 states.

The company also announced that five new branches in California and one in Minnesota are joining the national roster.

TWFG added the following 10 branch operations in Texas: Keith Tilghman, Denison; Michael Sanchez, Houston; Mark Wilson, The Woodlands; Robert Ortiz, The Woodlands; Jim Woods, Onalaska; Ryan Guillory, Humble; Leon Ly, Dallas; Connie Andrews, Plano; Don Oh, Lewisville; and Jerell Dycus, Coppell.

Topics Texas New York A.J. Gallagher