Business Moves

Rogers & Gray, Albert Brock Co.

Cape Cod, Mass.-based Rogers & Gray Insurance has acquired the independent insurance agency, Albert G. Brock Co., located on Nantucket Island, Mass.

The newly formed entity will now be known as Brock Insurance, a division of Rogers & Gray.

The Brock agency has served Nantucket Island businesses and residents for 130 years and will continue to operate in the same location, and employees will remain with the agency.

Founded in 1906 in Orleans, Rogers & Gray Insurance is an Insurance Journal Top 100 independent insurance agency and was selected as Insurance Journal’s “Best Independent Insurance Agency to Work For” in the nation in 2015.

Farmers National Bank, Bowers Insurance Agency

The Farmers National Bank of Canfield, Ohio, has acquired the Bowers Insurance Agency Inc. The transaction closed on June 1, 2016, and is expected to be accretive to earnings immediately.

The Bowers Group will continue to operate under its name from its location in Cortland, Ohio, but is expected to merge with Farmers National Insurance LLC, Farmers’ wholly owned insurance agency subsidiary.

The Bowers Group will be a business extension of Farmers’ Wealth Management division, and Farmers’ financial experts will be able to offer full-service programs to all current Bowers Group customers, including private client, retirement, investments, trust and insurance.

NFP Corp., Benefits Solutions Plus

Insurance broker and consultant, NFP Corp. has acquired Benefits Solutions Plus Inc. (BSP), based in Anoka, Minn.

BSP is a benefits brokerage that specializes in providing group health plans and ancillary products for small- to mid-size employers.

BSP Principal Allan Glad has three decades of insurance and benefits industry experience. He will be senior benefits consultant at NFP.

New York-based NFP provides employee benefits, property/casualty, retirement, and individual insurance and wealth management products and services through licensed subsidiaries and affiliates.

Bearence Management Group, AERO Risk Management

Bearence Management Group, based in Des Moines, Iowa, and AERO Risk Management, headquartered in Minneapolis, have formed a strategic partnership to provide clients of both firms with access to expanded risk management and insurance placement capabilities.

In conjunction with the agreement, AERO’s specialized aviation risk and insurance services will be available to Bearence clients, and Bearence’s broad range of property and casualty, employee benefits, and financial strategies capabilities will be available to AERO clients.

In addition to Des Moines, Bearence Management Group has offices in Mendota Heights, Minn., and Overland Park, Kan. The firm was founded in 2005.

AERO Risk Management has specialized risk management and insurance brokerage services to clients whose primary business is aviation, and to those who use aviation to support their business.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Ashmore & Associates Insurance Agency

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Ashmore & Associates Insurance Agency Inc. headquartered in Lubbock, Texas.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1984, Ashmore & Associates Insurance Agency Inc. is a retail insurance broker providing property/casualty, employee benefits consulting, and risk management insurance services for commercial and personal lines clients in the central United States.

The firm specializes in placing coverage for the manufacturing, healthcare and energy industries.

Wilburn Ashmore, Elizabeth Ashmore and their team will continue to operate from their locations in Lubbock, Canadian and Midland, Texas, under the direction of Bret VanderVoort, head of Gallagher’s South Central retail property/casualty brokerage operations, and John Neumaier, head of Gallagher’s South Central employee benefit consulting and brokerage operations.

Confie, ExpressLink

Confie has acquired ExpressLink Inc., a Calabasas, Calif.-based provider of auto dealer point-of-sale insurance and related products and services.

Brian Murphy will continue as president of ExpressLink.

Huntington Beach, Calif.-based Confie is a national insurance distribution company primarily focused on personal lines and small commercial insurance.

Risk Strategies, OakBridge Advisors

Risk Strategies Co. has acquired employee benefits firm OakBridge Advisors in Newport Beach, Calif.

Founders Edward Kirkwood and Lawrence Hartley their staff will continue serving their current client base.

They will work with Risk Strategies’ other California offices in Irvine, Glendale, San Francisco and Sacramento.

Risk Strategies is an insurance broker that offers risk management advice and insurance placement for property/casualty, healthcare and employee benefits risks.

Cross Insurance Bardwell, Bowlby & Karem

Cross Insurance has purchased Pittsfield, Mass.-based independent insurance agency Bardwell, Bowlby & Karam. Terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed.

Bardwell, Bowlby & Karam is a regional property/casualty retail insurance agency providing commercial and personal insurance, along with financial services and risk management.

Under terms of the acquisition, Bardwell, Bowlby & Karam will continue under the same leadership and staff, and will join forces with Cross Surety Inc., to offer bonding services for its clients.

Michelle Orlando will oversee the combined insurance and bonding operation as president. Ed Chagnon will continue to run the commercial insurance operations, and Ed O’Brien continues managing the personal lines insurance operations.

Founded in 1954, Cross Insurance has grown from a small, family-owned and operated insurance agency based in Bangor, Maine, into one of the largest insurance providers in New England with 700 employees in more than 35 offices in the region.

Oswald Companies, The Hoffman Group

Oswald Companies, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, has acquired The Hoffman Group, an Ohio insurance firm founded in 1919.

Hoffman’s employees are now employee-owners of Oswald and will operate out of offices in Cleveland and Medina, Ohio.

The acquisition marks Oswald’s fifth acquisition in the past five years. In addition to significant investments throughout its five regional office markets – Akron, Columbus, Cincinnati, Detroit and Toledo – in 2016, Oswald has also expanded its Cleveland headquarters at Oswald Centre.

Digital Benefit Advisors, The Stevenson Group

Digital Benefit Advisors (DBA), has acquired its second Houston-based firm, The Stevenson Group.

Principals Brian and Audrey Stevenson, along with their 16-member team will continue servicing clients of the firm, which has been providing professional services for more than four decades.

Topics Ohio A.J. Gallagher