GroupAssur, a Canadian managing general agent (MGA), specializing in property/casualty insurance lines, announced it has merged with Evolution Insurance, an MGA and wholesaler specializing in complex risks that offers its facilities, programs and services to Canadian brokers.
Novacap, one of Canada’s leading private equity firms, owns a majority interest in GroupAssur. Following the combination, each company will initially continue to operate under their existing brand names, with an objective of full integration in 2022.
Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
With the merger, GroupAssur becomes the largest independent Canadian-owned P/C MGA, said Novacap in a statement.
Founded in 2008, Evolution is led by Yves Daigneault and Louis-Philippe Ferland. The owners of Evolution will continue as shareholders of GroupAssur.
“We are thrilled to bring together two great companies and two great cultures, led by exceptional entrepreneurs,” said Marcel Larochelle, managing partner, Financial Services, at Novacap. “With this transaction, we continue to grow a strong national platform that can meet the needs of brokers and their clients across a broad spectrum of products and geography. Evolution has emerged as a strong player in the P/C marketplace, which will complement well with GroupAssur’s product offerings and target markets.”
“When we partnered with Novacap in 2020, our goal was to build the best MGA platform in Canada. By combining with Evolution, we are well on our way,” said Jean-Francois Raymond, president of Montreal-headquartered GroupAssur.
“With Evolution’s global relationships and expertise, we will be able to have a broader product offering in additional markets with increased distribution,” added Raymond. “Furthermore, our philosophies are fully aligned, as we are both always striving to meet the needs of our customers and brokers in markets where it is becoming increasingly difficult to find specialized products for clients.”
“We have known Jean-François and GroupAssur for many years and are impressed by the great company they have built,” said Yves Daigneault, president of Terrebonne, Quebec-based Evolution Insurance. “With Novacap’s guidance, we are proud to be joining with this great company in the next leg of our growth. With our combined capabilities, we foresee many great synergistic relationships developing across all of our customer, broker and client networks, for the benefit of all stakeholders.”
Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP acted as legal advisers to GroupAssur, while Lavery de Billy LLP acted as legal advisers to Evolution.
Source: Novacap
Topics Insurance Wholesale Canada
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