Business Moves

National

Acturis Group, Broker Buddha

The software-as-a-service firm Acturis Group has entered the U.S. market with the acquisition of Broker Buddha.

Broker Buddha, based in New York City, provides insurance brokers and carriers with a client engagement platform and other systems, the company said in a news release. The software aims to simplify the application and renewal process. Jason Keck is CEO of Broker Buddha.

The 23-year-old Acturis, headquartered in London, has offices in six countries and has some 1,200 staff members.

Harford Mutual Insurance Group, ClearPath Mutual Insurance

Maryland-based commercial property/casualty insurer Harford Mutual Insurance Group received final approval from the Maryland Insurance Administration of its merger with ClearPath Mutual Insurance Co., a monoline workers’ compensation carrier headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, ClearPath Mutual merged into Harford Mutual Insurance Group and converted to a stock insurer. Post-merger it will be renamed Clearpath Insurance Co. marketed as Clearpath Specialty.

The newly formed Clearpath Specialty has re-domesticated to Maryland.

All policyholders of ClearPath Mutual will obtain membership rights in Harford Mutual as policyholders of the newly formed Clearpath Specialty.

ClearPath Mutual, formerly KESA of Kentucky for 40 years, was formed in 2018 and currently provides monoline workers’ compensation coverage in Indiana, Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee, and West Virginia. ClearPath Mutual writes more than $52 million in direct written premium across nearly 7,000 policies.

ClearPath Mutual’s current home office in Louisville will remain in place and serve as Harford Mutual’s Midwest office.

Harford Mutual said it will retain all ClearPath Mutual employees and plans to merge efficiencies.

Jeff Borkowski, ClearPath Mutual’s current president and CEO, will become a vice president of Harford Mutual and remain president of Clearpath Specialty with Steve Linkous becoming CEO.

Harford Mutual Insurance Group, founded in 1842 in Harford County, Maryland, provides commercial property/casualty insurance to a regional market.

East

NFP, Hafetz & Associates

NFP, a property/casualty insurance broker, benefits consultant and retirement advisor, has acquired Hafetz & Associates, based in Linwood, New Jersey.

Hafetz is a general agent specializing in health benefits, work disability and other services for businesses. Scott Hafetz is CEO. He will now report to Kate Henry, co-president of NFP’s Northeast region.

NFP is headquartered in New York City and has offices around the country, and in Canada, Ireland and England.

Midwest

World Insurance Associates, R&S Insurance Agency

World Insurance Associates LLC announced that R&S Insurance Agency Inc. (R&S) of Stoughton, Wisconsin, joined World as of August 1.

R&S has been providing insurance products and services to individuals, families and businesses since 1964. R&S offers personal insurance, commercial lines as well as farm, ranch and agricultural business insurance.

World Insurance Associates is headquartered in Tinton Falls, New Jersey.

South Central

Inszone, Speck Insurance and Financial Services

Inszone Insurance Services, a national provider of benefits, personal, and commercial lines insurance, has acquired Speck Insurance and Financial Services.

Speck Insurance and Financial Services is a personal and commercial insurance agency founded in 2001 by Sheree Covington Speck. The agency will now operate from Inszone Insurance’s local office, catering to the Katy, Texas region.

Inszone is headquartered in Sacramento, California.

Higginbotham, Iscential

Higginbotham, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, has acquired Houston-based independent insurance agency, risk management and financial services firm, Iscential. This move adds a second Houston team to Higginbotham’s roster.

Warren Barhorst, CEO, founded Iscential, 30 years ago. It now has 140 associates and is licensed in over 38 states. In the transaction announcement, Barhorst noted that he was particularly excited to now be able to offer Higginbotham’s wide array of services to Iscential clients.

Dowling Hales acted as exclusive financial advisor to the sellers in this transaction.

Employee-owned Higginbotham was established in 1948 and ranks 16th on Insurance Journal’s 2023 list of the Top 100 Property/Casualty Agencies.

Southeast

Valent Group, Coastal Professional Insurance

Birmingham-based Valent Group, an insurance brokerage and risk management firm, has acquired Coastal Professional Insurance Inc., an independent agency in Mobile, Alabama.

Coastal, or CPI, has been in the business for three decades and offers property coverage. The agency principals also have considerable experience in flood insurance. La Donna Douglas is president of CPI.

Valent Group, with offices around Alabama, is a subsidiary of EBSCO Industries, a diverse, privately held global company based in Birmingham.

West

Arthur J. Gallagher, Wigmore Insurance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Costa Mesa, California-based Wigmore Insurance Agency Inc.

Tim Wigmore and his team will remain in their current location under the direction of Scott Firestone, head of Gallagher’s Southwest region retail property/casualty brokerage operations.

Wigmore is a retail insurance broker providing a range of commercial and personal insurance services to clients throughout Southern California.

Arthur J. Gallagher is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.

Risk Strategies, Bisnett Insurance

National specialty insurance broker Risk Strategies acquired Bisnett Insurance in West Linn, Oregon.

Bisnett Insurance offers commercial lines, personal lines and employee benefits products.

The firm has operations in the Pacific Northwest including Oregon, Arizona and Idaho.

Bisnett serves a variety of industries, including transportation and trucking, farm and ranch, construction, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, real estate, public entities and nonprofit organizations.

This acquisition expands Risk Strategies’ footprint in the Pacific Northwest, and builds upon the previous acquisition of Fournier Group, a commercial and personal lines retail insurance agency in Portland, Oregon.

Boston-based Risk Strategies is a brokerage firm offering risk management advice, insurance and reinsurance placement for property/casualty, employee benefits, private client services, as well as consulting services and financial and wealth solutions. Risk Strategies now has more than 30 specialty practices and 100 offices.

Topics California Maryland Oregon Kentucky