Business Moves

Barney & Barney, Saylor & Hill

Barney & Barney LLC, a San Diego-based insurance brokerage, closed its merger with Saylor & Hill Co., an Oakland, Calif.-based brokerage. The combined companies will work together to provide insurance, risk management and employee benefits solutions.

“Our merger with Saylor & Hill gives our clients the benefits of a larger broker while still maintaining the customer care of a private broker,” said Paul Hering, CEO and managing principal of Barney & Barney.

While Barney & Barney and Saylor & Hill each retain their individual names, office locations, staffing and management, the combined entity is now referred to as B&B Co. The combined company has offices in San Diego, Orange County and Oakland, Calif., and employs more than 300 associates.

B&B Co. oversees more than 20,000 client accounts generating $62 million in annual revenue and representing more than $1 billion in annual premiums.

“We are not only gaining the advantages that come with geographic expansion, as both firms also are benefiting from each other’s resources and experience,” said Michael Mirsky, principal and managing director of Saylor & Hill.

Hering is now CEO and managing principal of the combined organization and is based in San Diego. Mirsky is a principal in the firm and managing director of the Bay Area office.

Colorado Casualty

Englewood, Colo.-based Colorado Casualty, a Liberty Mutual Agency Markets regional company, opened a regional office in Phoenix. The company said the expansion is designed to improve agent and policyholder services in the southwestern portion of its six state territory.

The new office will accommodate approximately 30 employees. The company is in the process of hiring additional personnel and will base its commercial lines underwriting operations for Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico at the new location.

“Establishing Phoenix as a home base with a deep bench and more field representation means we can build on our strong agent relationships, provide local presence and decision-making, and gain greater familiarity and brand loyalty in these markets,” said Ronald Casner, regional vice president, Colorado Casualty.

Meanwhile, the company announced territory managers for the following states: Ron Roman and Matt Zollner in Arizona; Peter Connolly in Nevada; and Jennifer Beck-Herrera in New Mexico.

The company will also add approximately 20 new employees to the company’s southwestern team, including commercial lines underwriters, field investigators and customer service representatives.

Woodruff-Sawyer, Redevelopment Risk Services

Woodruff-Sawyer & Co. and Redevelopment Risk Services formed an alliance for companies trying to manage the risk of environmentally distressed and urban infill properties. The range of services will assist in redevelopment transactions of all types, including property purchase and sales, liability transfers, and urban infill and brownfield development projects.

“Managing the risks for these environmental transactions requires a multi-disciplinary approach,” said Steve Gaitley, Real Estate Practice leader and partner at Woodruff-Sawyer.

Woodruff-Sawyer is an independent insurance brokerage firm headquartered in San Francisco. RRS is a specialty insurance brokerage focused on real estate and brownfield risk management. For more information, visit www.wsandco.com.

Brown & Brown, Nathan Stone

A subsidiary of Brown & Brown Inc. acquired the assets of Nathan Stone Insurance Agency Inc. of Encino, Calif.

Nathan Stone Insurance Agency Inc. d/b/a Stone, Harris & Stone, with annualized revenues of approximately $3 million, is a retail insurance agency serving businesses and individual clients throughout California.

Victoria Stone Hartvig, principal at Nathan, and her staff will continue to operate from the existing Encino location as a freestanding Brown & Brown of California Inc. office under the name of Stone, Harris & Stone.

Alfred Interwest, PEMCO Insurance

Independent insurance agency Alfred Interwest Insurance will represent Seattle-based PEMCO Insurance. The agency has been serving Washington’s Kitsap County and surrounding areas since 1980.

Besides offering family coverage with home, auto, watercraft, RV and life insurance, Alfred Interwest Insurance also provides commercial insurance, particularly for small business and contractors.

Topics Colorado