NU Online News Service, April 3, 11:27 a.m. EDT

Two major insurance brokers, Marsh and Hub, announced they have made acquisitions this week.

Marsh, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, says it has acquired Cosmos Services (America) Inc., the U.S. insurance-brokerage subsidiary of global trading firm ITOCHU Corp.

With offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, Cosmos specializes in providing commercial property and casualty, personal lines, and employee-benefits-brokerage services to U.S. subsidiaries of Japanese companies. It has annual revenues of approximately $8 million.

Cosmos’ employees will become part of Marsh’s Asia Client Services team under the leadership of John McDonnell, president and chief executive officer of ACS in the United States. Marsh says the deal further strengthens its capabilities and resources in serving Japanese clients in the U.S. and also forges a strategic relationship between Marsh and ITOCHU.

Chicago-based Hub International Ltd. says it has acquired the assets of Signature Insurance Group, Inc., a Woodinville, Washington-based insurance-benefits-brokerage firm. 

Signature is a longstanding brokerage serving the insurance and risk-management needs of businesses and individuals throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska. Signature offers a range of personal- and commercial-lines products and services, with a specialty in serving condominium associations and apartment complexes.

Signature will become part of the Hub International Northwest (Hub Northwest) operation.

Dennis Boyd, vice president, real-estate sales, will join Hub Northwest in connection with this transaction, reporting to Erik Kuhn, vice president, commercial retail.

Boyd was a former member of the Seattle Seahawks pro football organization as a player during the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. 

Terms of both transactions were not disclosed.