Wells Fargo Insurance Services Inc., the bank-owned insurancebrokerage, has announced it will acquire Universal InsuranceServices Inc.

The Chicago-based Wells Fargo & Company subsidiary saidFriday that the acquisition will close July 1. Transaction termswere not disclosed.

Universal Insurance Services was founded in 1982 and providesrisk management and insurance.

Staff of the acquired firm will continue operating from itslocation at 648 Monroe Avenue N.W., Grand Rapids, Mich., andWilliam Rothwell, president and managing partner of UniversalInsurance Services, will act as managing director for the state ofMichigan, Wells Fargo Insurance said.

With the acquisition, “we will not only expand our insurance andrisk management resources to assist clients in protecting theirassets, but we will also be able to help them to grow theirbusinesses through our Wells Fargo partnership,” Mr. Rothwellsaid.

In addition to providing business, personal and employeebenefits insurance, Universal Insurance Services also operates athird-party administrator that provides marketing, sales andpolicyholder services for associations throughout the United Statesand Canada. Two additional risk entities include Risk ControlNetwork (RCN), providing risk education products, and Harbor RiskUnderwriters (HRU), a managing general underwriter serving themarine community.

“We've grown to become one of America's largest brokeragecompanies by combining our national resources with great localagencies like Universal,” said Dave Zuercher, president and chiefexecutive officer of Wells Fargo Insurance Services. “We willcontinue to look for agency acquisitions that fit our operatingphilosophy and parent footprint, especially in the 23 states inwhich Wells Fargo has banks established.”

Wells Fargo Insurance Services was formerly Acordia Inc. Itdescribes itself as the largest bank-owned insurance brokerage inthe United States with more than 150 offices in 38 states, 4,500employees and more than $8.5 billion of risk premiums.