Business Moves

Sutton James Aviation Insurance Brokers, Optisure Risk Partners

Sutton James Aviation Insurance Brokers, a Hartford, Conn.-based resource for aviation-related coverages throughout North and South America, has joined Optisure Risk Partners to lead the development of Optisure’s Aviation Practice Group.

Jon Doolittle, president of Sutton James, and the entire Sutton James team have joined the organization and will have responsibility for providing insurance offerings to Optisure’s aviation client base.

Doolittle has an aviation career spanning more than 30 years.

Optisure is a Manchester, N.H.-based provider of risk management and insurance solutions.

Alera Group

Alera Group, a national employee benefits, property and casualty, risk management and wealth management firm, has completed the acquisition of Simpson McCrady Benefits LLC, effective Oct. 1. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Simpson McCrady Benefits, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Penn., specializes in the employee benefits industry.

Simpson McCrady Benefits will join Alera Group through the local firm Coury Health Services.

Alera Group also acquired Axis Benefit Consultants in Westmont, Ill., and Jeatran Associates in Menomonie, Wisc.

Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

Axis Benefit Consultants specializes in benefits administration, broker and advisory services, COBRA administration and state continuation, along with support to provide clients with tailored plans that meet their specific needs. Axis Benefit Consultants will join Alera Group through local firm GCG Financial.

Jeatran Associates offers employee benefits, individual insurance and HR consulting services to each of its clients.

This firm focuses on providing affordable, effective coverage for organizations of all sizes throughout Wisconsin. Jeatran Associates will join Alera Group through local firm JA Counter.

Alera Group has now announced nine acquisitions this year, opening new locations in six states.

Based in Deerfield, Ill., Alera Group was created by merging 24 entrepreneurial firms across the U.S.

Hub International, Banyan Consulting Group, Marwil & Associates

Hub International Limited has acquired the assets of Banyan Consulting Group Inc.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

With offices in Greensboro, Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C., Banyan specializes in employee benefits. Alan Overbey, CEO of Banyan, will join HUB Carolinas. With the Banyan acquisition, HUB Carolinas will be serving clients in North and South Carolina with a total of 12 regional offices.

In a separate deal, Hub also acquired the assets of Marwil & Associates LLC in Farmington Hills, Mich. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Marwil & Associates specializes in employee benefits. Bruce Marwil, president, will join HUB Midwest East and report to Caroly Hofstee, president of HUB Midwest East.

Headquartered in Chicago, Ill., Hub International Limited is a global insurance brokerage.

The Hilb Group, CNC Insurance Associates

The Hilb Group LLC (THG), a property and casualty insurance and employee benefits broker, has acquired CNC Insurance Associates Inc. (CNC). The transaction became effective October 1, 2017.

CNC is THG’s 38th acquisition since it was founded in 2009.

Founded in 1978, CNC provides property and casualty insurance solutions for businesses in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Virginia. With its office location in Dover, Del., CNC is the first acquisition in the state for THG.

Kevin Nemith, CNC’s managing director, will continue to lead the agency’s associates out of its existing location.

The addition of CNC also continues THG’s national expansion and is expected to further strengthen the company’s presence in the Mid-Atlantic region, added THG CEO Ricky Spiro in the release.

The Hilb Group is a middle market insurance agency headquartered in Richmond, Va. It is a portfolio company of Boston-based private equity firm, Abry Partners.

Millhiser Smith Agency, The Accel Group

Millhiser Smith Agency, an independent insurance agency in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, specializing in risk management, has entered a definitive merger agreement with The Accel Group, a Cedar Valley, Iowa-based insurance agency with offices in Cedar Falls and Waverly.

Effective Jan. 1, 2018, the combined entity will do business as The Accel Group, making it one of the largest Iowa-domiciled insurance agencies in the state.

The new entity will continue to be run by the same experienced management groups that are in place at each respective company and will retain its offices in Cedar Falls, Waverly and Cedar Rapids. Tim Gassman, president of Millhiser Smith, will serve as the CEO of the new entity, while Mike Byl, president of The Accel Group, will continue to serve in that capacity.

Brown & Brown of Louisiana, Lapeyre, Staples & Robichaux

Brown & Brown of Louisiana LLC, a subsidiary of Florida-based Brown & Brown Inc., has acquired substantially all of the assets of Lapeyre, Staples & Robichaux, the companies announced.

Lapeyre, Staples and Robichaux, based in Houma, La., specializes in employee benefits insurance products and services.

Partners Chris Lapeyre, Ken Staples and Eldridge Robichaux have annual net revenues of approximately $2 million. They will continue to operate from their Houma location under the direction of Tommy Huval, regional president of Brown & Brown.

Ryan Specialty Group, Oxford Insurance Services

Chicago-based Ryan Specialty Group LLC has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Oxford Insurance Services LLC (Oxford), a wholesale insurance brokerage headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Oxford will become part of R-T Specialty LLC (RT Specialty), the wholesale brokerage unit of Ryan Specialty Group (RSG), and will enhance RT Specialty’s Houston office.

Oxford specializes in energy, construction, environmental and other complementary markets.

Joining RT Specialty is Matt Galtney, president and CEO of Oxford, who will become the president of RT Houston and will lead RT Specialty’s Energy Practice Group.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Specialty Program Group, Capitol Special Risks

Specialty Program Group LLC, a holding company for specialty brokerage, contract binding and insurance underwriting facilities, has acquired the assets of Capitol Special Risks Inc. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Established in 1991 and based in Atlanta, Ga., CSR is a niche wholesaler and managing general underwriter specializing in professional and management liability coverages. CSR, an all-female specialty brokerage, was purchased by CEO Lynn Levinson and President Dorothea Westin in 1998, and they have been sole owners ever since. Westin and Levinson will continue to run the company post-acquisition.

Headquartered in Summit, N.J., Specialty Program Group focuses on expanding program underwriting, contract binding and specialty businesses.