Business Moves

AmWINS Group, Group Benefit Services

AmWINS Group Inc. has acquired Group Benefit Services Inc. and GBS Payroll Plus Inc., known collectively as Group Benefit Services, in Hunt Valley, Md. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1980, Group Benefit Services is a third-party administrator and general agent offering products and services to support the distribution, delivery and administration of employee benefits and healthcare services. Group Benefit Services provides employee benefit services to both fully-insured and self-insured groups.

AmWINS said the acquisition would help grow AmWINS’s Group Benefits presence in the Mid-Atlantic region and complement its existing Group Benefits division capabilities. The deal would help AmWINS’s Group Benefits division enhance its mid-market self-funded product offerings and expand capabilities in fully-insured product administration, AmWINS said.

Group Benefit Services, with more than 200 employees, represents more than 20 insurance carriers while supporting in excess of 8,000 employer groups nationwide through its relationships with more than 800 benefits brokers.

Established in 1998, AmWINS is a Charlotte, N.C.-based wholesale brokerage with nearly 100 locations around the world and more than 3,600 employees.

AssuredPartners, MRW Group

AssuredPartners Inc. has acquired MRW Group Inc., an independent agency based in Hauppauge, N.Y. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

MRW Group’s staff of 25 will continue to provide risk management and insurance services under the leadership of President Rich De La Sota.

MRW Group offers a multitude of insurance products, including personal, business, life and employee benefits. The agency reports approximately $4.2 million in revenues.

Based in Lake Mary, Fla., AssuredPartners acquires and invests in insurance brokerage businesses (property/casualty, employee benefits, surety and MGU’s) across the U.S. and in London.

Marsh & McLennan, Aviation Solutions

Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC (MMA), the middle-market agency subsidiary of Marsh, has acquired Aviation Solutions LLC, an aviation risk advisor and insurance broker based in Lee’s Summit, Mo. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2004, Aviation Solutions offers customized aviation risk insurance programs for individual, corporate, and commercial clients across the United States.

Aviation Solutions will operate out of MMA’s existing Overland Park, Kan., office, which is part of MMA’s upper Midwest region.

Hub International, Greene-Hazel & Associates Inc.

Global insurance brokerage Hub International Ltd. (Hub) has acquired the assets of Greene-Hazel & Associates Inc., based in Jacksonville, Fla. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Greene-Hazel specializes in providing multiline insurance, including property and casualty, personal lines and employee benefits. Greene-Hazel’s CEO, Chip Greene, will join Hub Southeast and report to Chris Gardner, CEO of Florida, Hub Southeast.

Headquartered in Chicago, Hub International Ltd, provides property and casualty, life and health, employee benefits, investment and risk management products and services from offices located throughout North America.

Protector Holdings, BetterWay Insurance

Protector Holdings has acquired Concord, Calif.-based BetterWay Insurance Services. Terms of the deal were not released.

BetterWay specializes in providing insurance services to Hispanic consumers, and writes auto, motorcycle, RV, boat, homeowners and renters insurance coverage from additional California locations in Fairfield, Sonora and Visalia.

Protector Holdings was founded in 2013 as a partnership between EPIC, a retail property/casualty and employee benefits insurance broker/consultant, private equity firm Dowling Capital Partners, and Premier Insurance Services.

Northwest Bank, Best Insurance

Northwest Bank, based in Warren, Pa., has acquired Best Insurance Agency Inc., an employee benefits and property/casualty insurance agency in Butler, Pa. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Best Insurance Agency currently has 11 full-time employees, 10 of whom are joining Northwest Bank. Rick McClean, the agency’s corporate treasurer, will be retiring after 43 years of service. Best Insurance Agency principals Don Best, Carol Best McClean, Mike Reese and Ray Rosenbauer will continue to operate from their current Butler location as representatives of Northwest Bank.

In its 100th year, Best Insurance has provided personal and commercial insurance in Butler and the surrounding area.

Northwest Bank launched its insurance brokerage division in 2010. In 2015, the division had $7.9 million in revenues.

WT Phelan, Martini Insurance

WT Phelan & Co., an independent insurance agency based in Belmont, Mass., has acquired Martini Insurance Agency in Woburn, Mass. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Martini Insurance was founded in 1960 by John C. Martini. He is retiring from the insurance industry and has selected WT Phelan for the sale.

Martini Insurance’s eight staff members – including the agency founder John C. Martini’s three children, Julie, Michael and Kathy – have joined WT Phelan and will stay on at the Woburn office.

Established in 1898, WT Phelan is a fourth-generation, family owned and operated agency with more than 50 employees.

The Hilb Group, RWO

The Hilb Group, a middle-market insurance agency based in Richmond, Va., has acquired Raley, Watts & O’Neill (RWO), an independent agency based in the town of California in Maryland. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Hilb Group said the RWO acquisition will strengthen its Mid-Atlantic arm. RWO offers general insurance products and services, and a variety of specialty programs for healthcare facilities, social services providers, federal contractors, fire and EMS organizations, and marinas.

Rick Tepel, RWO’s chief executive officer, and Gordon O’Neill, president, will continue to lead RWO’s 21 employees under its existing name. RWO has offices in California, LaPlata and Columbia, Md., as well as an office in Charleston, S.C. All four locations will continue to operate after the transaction.

Marshall & Sterling, Valley Group

Marshall & Sterling Insurance has acquired the Valley Group Inc., an insurance and financial services agency based in Kingston, N.Y. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1927, the Valley Group’s operations will continue at their two current locations, under the name the Valley Group, a division of Marshall & Sterling.

The Valley Group’s 15 employees will join Marshall & Sterling and transition to become employee-owners through Marshall & Sterling’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).

The Valley Group President and CEO Kevin Ryan will be vice president and branch manager for the Kingston and Hopewell Junction offices. Michael Ryan, principal and registered investment advisor for Valley Group, will be vice president for Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc., a subsidiary of Marshall & Sterling Enterprises Inc.

Topics California