Business Moves

East

Marsh McLennan, Arthur Hall

Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA), a business of Marsh, announced the acquisition of Arthur Hall Insurance, a West Chester, Pennsylvania-based insurance agency. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Founded in 1966, Arthur Hall provides commercial and personal lines insurance to clients nationwide, specializing in the life sciences, information management, non-profit, craft beverage manufacturing, and municipal industries.

All Arthur Hall employees, including President Jim Denham, will join MMA and continue to operate out of their two office locations in West Chester and Wilmington, Delaware.

Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc., AiK2 Insurance Services

Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc. (S&S) acquired AiK2 Insurance Services, a New Jersey-based firm. As part of the acquisition, AiK2 will rebrand under the S&S name, combining services for wealth and asset managers with expanded resources from S&S’s Private Client Insurance division. AiK2 combines the financial services expertise of Wealth Advisor Growth Network (WAGN) and the insurance capabilities of KORE Insurance.

AiK2’s co-founder, Jay Hummel, who served as the company’s CEO, will continue in an advisory role at S&S. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Transatlantic Underwriters

Transatlantic Underwriters (TAU), a leader in specialty insurance for the transportation industry, launched a new property and casualty (P&C) division to expand service offerings. The strategic expansion introduces six new lines of business: commercial general and excess liability, commercial property, inland marine, builders risk and garage.

To lead this new division, TAU appointed Bernadette Flores as senior vice president of P&C. Flores has over 24 years of experience in the excess and surplus P&C sector, with particular expertise in contractors, garage, habitational and hospitality. Flores will operate from TAU’s San Francisco Bay Area office.

Ryan Specialty, USQRisk Holdings

Global specialty insurance broker Ryan Specialty has agreed to acquire certain assets of USQRisk Holdings, LLC, a New York-headquartered managing general agency focused on nontraditional insurance.

Formed in 2020 and operating in New York and London, USQ has two core business divisions: alternative risk specialty underwrites, structures, prices and places specialty insurance for corporate clients. The facilities specialty creates new products for unique risks in highly dislocated markets.

The acquisition is expected to bring approximately $11 million of incremental operating revenue to Ryan Specialty.

USQ will become a part of the alternative risk business within Ryan Specialty.

Midwest

MarshBerry’s FirstChoice Expands

FirstChoice, a MarshBerry Company, expanded into Minnesota and Arizona. This move allows independent insurance agency owners in these states to join FirstChoice’s network to access resources and support.

FirstChoice was founded in 2015 to give captive agents broader access to commercial opportunities. It became an agency member network in 2017 with a menu of services that includes direct carrier access, strategic business planning, advanced technology solutions, and a comprehensive education platform.

Hadron, The Guarantee Company of North America

Hadron, an Arkansas-based carrier, intends to acquire The Guarantee Company of North America USA (GCNA), a Michigan-based insurance company, from Atlantic Specialty Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Intact Financial Corporation.

Hadron expects the acquisition to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

No net premiums, net loss reserves, or employees will transfer as a result of the transaction.

With licensing to operate in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, as well as a Certificate of Authority from the U.S. Department of Treasury as an acceptable surety for Federal bonds, GCNA will expand Hadron’s capabilities and national footprint, enhancing its ability to deliver a broader range of admitted insurance solutions.

Hadron launched in the U.S. in 2023. Hadron provides both lead and primary insurance services as well as capacity to managing general agents or managing general underwriters that offer small-to-medium-sized businesses protection for their growing insurance needs.

Totalis Program Underwriters, Brownyard Maclean Security Insurance Services LLC

Totalis Program Underwriters, an underwriting platform providing specialty expertise and solutions for challenging and under-served areas of the market, acquired Brownyard MacLean Security Insurance Services LLC.

Brownyard MacLean is a Michigan-based managing general underwriter and program administrator specializing in the unique exposures of the private security and alarm industries.

Brownyard MacLean CEO Matt MacLean and Executive Vice President Blair Brownyard, join Totalis as senior vice presidents and Maureen Tortorici joins as a vice president.

Inszone Insurance Services, Munson Insurance Agency

Inszone Insurance Services made its second acquisition in Kansas with the addition of Munson Insurance Agency, located in Arkansas City, Kansas.

Established in 1974 by Jim Munson, Munson Insurance Agency is a trusted local source of insurance solutions, serving the Arkansas City community and surrounding areas for nearly 50 years.

Mike Munson, Jim’s son, joined the agency in 1994 and took full ownership of the agency in 2008. Munson Insurance Agency specializes in business and farm insurance.

Southeast

Novatae Risk Group, Ajax Specialty Insurance

Novatae Risk Group (Novatae) acquired the assets of Ajax Specialty Insurance (Ajax) of Atlanta, Georgia.

Ajax is a specialized wholesaler focused on the management and professional liability spaces, including the following coverages–D&O (directors and officers), E&O (errors and omissions), and technology/cyber liability. Andy Bierbaum founded the company in 2012 and brought in co-owner and partner Karen Kutger six years later.

Giordano Halleran Ciesla provided counsel, and MarshBerry advised Novatae. Frost Brown Todd LLP provided legal counsel to Ajax. No other advisors, diligence firms or legal counsel were disclosed.

Novatae serves more than 6,000 clients from 27 offices across the United States. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Higginbotham, Tidwell and Hilburn Insurance, Thompson & Smith Insurance

Higginbotham, one of the largest insurance agencies headquartered in Texas, has expanded its footprint in the Southeast by adding agencies in Georgia and Tennessee.

The firm announced that Tidwell & Hilburn Insurance in Macon, Georgia, has become the eleventh Higginbotham office in Georgia. Coleman “Cole” Tidwell Jr. is president, and Rusty Hilburn is vice president.

In Tennessee, Higginbotham added Thompson & Smith Insurance Agency in Jackson.

Chuck Thompson is the CEO, and Roger Smith is the president of the agency. The agency offers personal and commercial coverage, including workers’ compensation insurance.

PointeNorth Insurance Group, Holloway and Hunt Insurance, Vigilant Gulf Coast Insurance, O.M. Hughes Insurance

PointeNorth Insurance Group, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, acquired three agencies in Alabama.

The acquisitions include Holloway and Hunt Insurance in the town of Arab, in north Alabama; Vigilant Gulf Coast Insurance, in Daphne, near the coast; and O.M. Hughes Insurance, in the Birmingham area.

Mickey Hunt, principal at Holloway Hunt, said the move allows the firm to expand its portfolio.

Dan Quarella is president of Vigilant Gulf Coast. The agency offers personal and commercial coverage and is licensed in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida and Tennessee.

O.M. Hughes was founded in 1946 by O.M. Hughes Sr. His son, Marvin, joined in 1971, and his grandson, Mark Hughes, joined the firm in 2002.

All three agencies will operate under their established names.

PointeNorth, with headquarters in Atlanta, has acquired more than 50 agencies in recent years.

South Central

Capital Farm Credit, Bennett Crop Insurance, Taylor Crop Insurance

Capital Farm Credit purchased two crop insurance agencies in the Texas Plains Region, Bennett Crop Insurance and Taylor Crop Insurance. Both were independent insurance agencies headquartered near Lubbock, Texas. These acquisitions add nine new employees and two new locations to CFC’s territory.

Bennett Insurance, located in Brownfield, Texas, has been family-owned and operated since 2004, serving several counties in the Panhandle.

Taylor Crop Insurance has been in business for more than 40 years, starting as a family-owned agency in Ropesville, Texas. It focuses on serving cotton producers in Lubbock and Hockley counties.

Capital Farm Credit is an agricultural lending cooperative and has offered crop and livestock insurance for over 10 years.

West

OneDigital, Fortune Insurance

OneDigital, an insurance brokerage, financial services and HR consulting firm acquired Fortune Insurance, a property and casualty firm headquartered in Tacoma, Washington.

With an established presence in employee benefits, HR, and financial services throughout Washington, the strategic acquisition expands OneDigital’s capabilities into property and casualty insurance. It also advances OneDigital’s commitment to delivering integrated, end-to-end solutions for employers.

Founded in 2014 by President Grant Baldwin, Fortune Insurance has earned a reputation for delivering general and professional liability, property and vehicle coverage, excess and umbrella policies, workers’ compensation, employment practices liability and intellectual and product liability. Through the partnership, the Fortune team gains access to OneDigital’s nationwide network of P&C resources. The collaboration strengthens OneDigital’s P&C presence across the Western region, complementing its existing offices in California, Colorado, Idaho and Utah.