Alera Group Acquires Kaplansky Insurance Agency in Massachusetts

Needham, Massachusetts-based Kaplansky Insurance Agency has been acquired by the national financial services firm Alera Group.

This new partnership brings more than 100 agents to add to Alera Group’s property/casualty offerings in the Northeast.

The independent agency was founded in 1974 in Brookline by Ely Kaplansky at the age of 22. The agency has grown into one of the largest privately held insurance agencies in the Northeast. Over the last 50 years, Kaplansky has completed 53 acquisitions and welcomed more than 50,000 clients.

The agency has 18 locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Last month, Kaplansky disclosed it recently bought two central Massachusetts insurance agencies and a third in the western part of the state.

The Alera announcement said that Kaplansky Agency employees will continue serving clients in their existing roles.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. MarshBerry Capital acted as financial advisor to Kaplansky in the Alera transaction.

Illinois-headquartered Alera Group is a privately-held independent financial services firm with $1.5 billion in gross revenue and 4,500 colleagues. Alera Group was formed in 2017 by the merger of 24 independent insurance firm and backing from Genstar Capital. In 2020 Alera received $150 million from The Carlyle Group to fund acquisitions.

On January 1 2025, Jim Blue, Alera Group president, became Alera’s chief executive officer, succeeding Alan Levitz, who became executive chairman.

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Massachusetts