BB&T To Acquire UnionBanc Insurance

Raleigh, N.C.-based BB&T Insurance Services said it has reached an agreement with San Francisco-based Union Bank of California, N.A., to purchase its San Diego-based insurance subsidiary, UnionBanc Insurance Services Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

BB&T said the acquisition would expand its insurance operation in California, where wholesale insurance subsidiaries CRC Insurance Services and large account commercial insurer McGriff, Seibels & Williams already operate. It said it expects to close the transaction during the second quarter of this year pending regulatory approval.

With 369 employees, UnionBanc Insurance Services operates offices in Pleasanton, San Rafael, Stockton and Roseville in northern California; San Diego, Irvine, Fullerton and Glendale in southern California; and Portland, Ore.

BB&T said it plans to merge a number of UnionBanc Insurance offices with its existing California and Oregon offices.

Those not consolidated with existing offices are expected to operate as wholly owned subsidiaries of BB&T. The operations would be overseen by Martin Loth, who currently manages the McGriff, Seibels & Williams office in Irvine.

Union Bank entered the insurance brokerage business in 2001 with the acquisition of Fullerton-based Armstrong/Robitaille Business and Insurance Services. The additions of 115-year-old John Burnham and Company in 2002 and Pleasanton-based Tanner Insurance Brokers in 2003 expanded the company's footprint into San Diego and northern California. In late 2003, Glendale-based Knight Insurance Agency joined the company.

Johannes "Johs" Worsoe, a senior executive vice president with Union Bank and head of its Global & Wealth Markets Group, said in a statement that the bank is exiting the insurance business to concentrate on its banking and financial services business.

BB&T Insurance Services Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Wade Reece said, "We're excited about expanding in California, the number-one state for insurance values in the country. This partnership will only strengthen our overall investment on the West Coast."