U.S.I. Acquires Future Planning Associates

By Mark E. Ruquet

NU Online News Service, July 7, 10:57 a.m.EDT?U.S.I. Holdings Corp. brokerage is buying Matawan,N.J.-based employee benefit consulting firm Future PlanningAssociates Inc. [@@]

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal isexpected to add $10 million of revenues to U.S.I. annually, thecompany based in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., said.

Founded in 1985, FPA is an employee benefit consulting firm thatdesigns, markets and administers voluntary insurance programs bypayroll deduction for employee groups in the U.S.

David L. Eslick, U.S.I.'s chairman, president and chiefexecutive officer, said the acquisition would make the firm one ofthe largest single insurance brokers of voluntary benefits.

The purchase gives U.S.I. an entry into the union andassociation markets where the firm does not have much penetration,said Gregory J. Morano, president and CEO of U.S.I. SpecializedBenefits Division.

Previously, its voluntary benefit division, Customer BenefitPrograms, offered insurance lines through employer sponsoredprograms for such companies as J.C. Penney, Pepsi-America and otherlarge corporations. The business amounts to $35-to-$40 million involuntary benefit premium per year, he said.

The acquisition of FPA "creates a more global marketplace forour producers to go out and find business," he told NationalUnderwriter.

While the voluntary benefit insurance lines offerings primarilyconcentrate on life, disability and critical care insurance, theyoffer property-casualty personal lines businesses, such as auto andhomeowners, as well.

John B. Pescitelli, president and chief executive of FPA, saidthe firm provides services to the education, transportation andgovernment markets, delivering coverage to approximately onemillion members of professional associations and labor unions.FPA's Administration Plus service allows payment of the benefitsthrough payroll deductions.

He said that the partnership with U.S.I. would broaden FPA'sportfolio of benefits and services.

Mr. Morano said there are no plans to merge FPA into any otherbusinesses within U.S.I.

"We love the company and we love what they are doing," heremarked. "They have unbelievable brand loyalty. We are not lookingto change the way FPA operates. This is not a fold-in; it's anadd-on."