Business Moves

Arthur J. Gallagher, Joseph Distel, Continuum Solution

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Joseph Distel & Co. Inc. in Farmington, Conn. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1955, Joseph Distel & Co. is a managing general agent and wholesale insurance broker that specializes in the transportation industry.

Ken Distel and his associates will continue to operate from their location in Farmington under the direction of Joel Cavaness, president of Risk Placement Services Inc., a subsidiary of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In addition, Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services Inc., the retail property/casualty brokerage operation of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., has acquired Continuum Solutions Ltd. in New York City. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Continuum Solutions’ Managing General Partner and Founder Robert A. Perlman and his associates will operate under the direction of Patrick Kennedy, regional executive vice president of Gallagher’s New York City office.

Carlyle Group, Wholesale Trading, JenCap

Wholesale Trading Co-Op Insurance Services, a wholesale brokerage based in New York City, announced that its assets will be acquired by private-equity giant Carlyle Group. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Wholesale Trading Co-Op Insurance Services will be renamed Wholesale Trading Insurance Services LLC (WTIS). Its approximately 40 employees will all stay on. The firm was previously owned by its management team and external private investors.

WTIS will become part of Carlyle Group’s JenCap Holdings LLC in New York City and lead its transactional wholesale brokerage operation.

John F. Jennings, who has been serving as president and CEO of Wholesale Trading Co-Op Insurance Services, will be named president and CEO of JenCap Holdings. Kristopher Bauer, co-head of Casualty Practice at Wholesale Trading Co-Op Insurance Services, will be named president of WTIS.

JenCap Holdings will serve as a consolidator of specialty insurance distribution and program management businesses, and will continue to operate from its current locations in New York City, San Francisco, Atlanta and Princeton, New Jersey.

Risk Strategies, Maggs & Associates

Risk Strategies Co., a privately held, national insurance brokerage and risk management firm based in Boston, has acquired Maggs & Associates in Schenectady, N.Y. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Established in 1987, Maggs & Associates is a brokerage specializing in serving the insurance placement and risk mitigation needs of colleges and universities.

Maggs & Associates’ owner and principal, Thomas Maggs, along with the firm’s approximately six staff members, will join Risk Strategies and continue to operate from their Schenectady location under the name Maggs & Associates, a Risk Strategies Co.

Risk Strategies has offices in 22 locations across the United States and more than 550 employees.

Confie, Axiom Insurance

Confie, a national provider of personal and commercial lines insurance, has entered the Massachusetts market with the acquisition of Axiom Insurance Agency based in Springfield. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2000 and specializing in personal lines insurance, Axiom Insurance Agency has five locations in central Massachusetts. Axiom Insurance Agency’s 18 employees will all join Confie as part of the transaction.

Established in 2008, Confie is a California-based national insurance distribution company primarily focused on personal lines and small commercial insurance.

Marsh, Corporate Consulting Service

Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC, the middle market agency subsidiary of Marsh, has acquired Corporate Consulting Services Ltd., a New York City-based insurance brokerage and human resource consulting firm. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Established in 1989, Corporate Consulting Services specializes in providing employee benefits, retirement planning, and human resource consulting services.

Corporate Consulting Services generates $6 million in annual revenues and has 20 employees, all of whom are joining Marsh & McLennan Agency’s Northeast region.

Corporate Consulting Services will continue to operate out of its New York City office under the leadership of its President and CEO Grant Dougherty. It will operate under the Marsh & McLennan Agency name.

R-T Specialty, Hartan Brokerage

R-T Specialty LLC, the wholesale brokerage unit of Ryan Specialty Group LLC in Chicago, has reached an agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Hartan Brokerage, a wholesale insurance brokerage operation based in New York City. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Established in 1986, Hartan Brokerage is a wholesale broker and managing underwriting agent. Hartan Brokerage President Ed Pray and the firm’s approximately 30 employees will all join R-T Specialty as part of the transaction. Pray will serve as president of RT NY, the R-T Specialty office located in New York City.

Pioneer Bank, Anchor Agency

Pioneer Bank, based in Troy, N.Y., has reached an agreement to acquire Anchor Agency Inc., an independent insurance agency in Albany, N.Y. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Established in 1960, Anchor Agency will keep its name and continue serving its existing client base from its Albany location. Anchor Agency’s 23 employees will join Pioneer Bank as part of the transaction.

Founded in 1889, Pioneer Bank is the only mutual bank serving New York’s Capital Region, the metropolitan area surrounding Albany. Pioneer Bank said this acquisition represents the bank’s first foray into the insurance brokerage business.

Pioneer Bank has approximately 240 employees and 21 branches throughout the Capital Region.

Element Risk Management, Barnett Insurance

Element Risk Management, an independent agency based in West Chester, Pa., with an additional office in Bel Air, Md., has acquired Barnett Insurance Inc., an independent agency in Pittsburgh. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1957, Barnett Insurance will continue to operate at its Pittsburgh location under the name Element Risk Management. Barnett Insurance’s two staff members will join Element Risk Management as part of the transaction.

Established in 2011, Element Risk Management focuses on personal lines, plus real estate & construction, sports & recreation, manufacturing and long haul trucking in commercial lines. Element Risk Management has 12 employees.

CBIZ, Savitz

CBIZ Inc., a professional business services firm based in Cleveland, has acquired the Savitz Organization in Philadelphia. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1968, Savitz is an employee retirement and health and welfare benefits firm that provides actuarial consulting and administration outsourcing services. Savitz has 110 employees and recorded approximately $20 million in revenue in 2015.

CBIZ provides financial services and employee services through more than 100 offices in 33 states.

Topics New York A.J. Gallagher