Acordia Acquires Three Brokerage Firms

Acordia Acquires Three Brokerage Firms

NU Online News Service, Sept. 9, 11:31 a.m. EDT?Acordia Inc., the Chicago-based unit of Wells Fargo & Company and the world's sixth-largest insurance broker, announced that as part of a continuing acquisition strategy it has purchased three regional brokerage firms.

The firms acquired in Acordia's latest transactions are: Wisenberg Insurance + Risk Management in Houston; McDermott Brokerage in Omaha, Neb.; and the Bala Cynwyd, Pa.-based Goodritz-Emanuel Insurance. All three acquisitions closed Sept. 1, Acordia said. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

Commenting on the latest acquisitions, Kevin Conboy, chief executive officer for Acordia, noted: "Acordia has built its reputation in the insurance brokerage world by acquiring retail brokerage operations around the country and also growing market share by seeing to satisfy all its customer's insurance needs."

Mr. Conboy also noted that Acordia would continue to look for more acquisition opportunities that fit its operating philosophy and help expand San Francisco-based Wells Fargo's reach both inside and outside its 23 banking states.

Of the three acquired agencies, Wisenberg Insurance + Risk Management is one of the top five privately held insurance and risk management firms in Houston.

In addition to providing business, personal and employee benefits insurance to Texas-based individuals and businesses, Wisenberg also has a large motorsports and entertainment division that offers risk management and insurance services to clients throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. Going forward, the firm's staff will continue to work from its current location without merging with other Acordia units.

Acordia said the Omaha, Neb.-based McDermott Brokerage, which specializes in employee benefits, would have the firm's staff integrated with Acordia's current Omaha office. The McDermott deal follows another Acordia transaction in Omaha just last month, where the broker bought Care Insurance Services. The two acquisitions, when combined with Acordia's existing Omaha office, significantly increase Acordia's presence in Omaha

Acordia's newly-acquired Goodritz-Emanuel Insurance agency provides commercial insurance services to retail chains and personal lines insurance to high-net-worth individuals in the Philadelphia area, and it will be combined with the existing Acordia office in Bala Cynwyd, Pa.