Two Ontario, two Alberta brokerages join BrokerLink

BrokerLink has welcomed four brokerages – two in Ontario; two in Alberta – to the fold in a move that expands the company’s reach while providing the four brokerages and their employees greater access to resources and opportunities.

The brokerages in question are Ontario-based Reddick & MacDonald Ltd. and Banks Insurance Services Inc., and Alberta-based Godfrey-Morrow Insurance and Financial Services Ltd. and McFarlane and Company Financial Group Limited.

Terms of the transactions, which took effect May 1, were not disclosed, notes a BrokerLink statement Thursday.

• family-owned Reddick & MacDonald, established in 1949, is a full-service brokerage that operates in Ottawa (where it is based) and in nearby Stittsville, Ont. under the Hudson Insurance Limited brand;
• serving southwestern Ontario and based in Belle River, Banks Insurance Services provides home, auto, commercial, marine and farm insurance;
• Calgary-based Godfrey-Morrow Insurance’s roots date back more than 90 years and is a full-service brokerage that offers a wide range of insurance products to more than 14,000 customers in Alberta; and
• in operation since 1983, Calgary-based McFarlane and Company offers personal and commercial insurance expertise.

Related: One Alberta brokerage and two from Ontario join BrokerLink

Greg Reece, president of Reddick & MacDonald, reports that the opportunities for employee development that come along with a larger organization were among the factors considered in joining BrokerLink.

“When you sell a business, it’s more than just about the bottom line,” Reece emphasizes in the statement. “By joining a larger organization like BrokerLink, our employees will have opportunities to further advance in their skills and profession.”

Ensuring a smooth transition for staff and customers was key to Hugh McTavish, president of Godfrey-Morrow Insurance.

“BrokerLink’s integration process facilitated the transition we wanted. All the details were handled, which allowed us to focus on educating our employees and customers about joining BrokerLink,” McTavish reports.

Related: Two Ontario brokerages – Vision Insurance Brokers and Steele & Ferraro Insurance Brokers – join BrokerLink

Pamela Banks, president of Banks Insurance Services, cites the appeal that scale offers in terms of human resources, information technology, marketing and finance.

“As a business owner, you wear many ‘hats’, such as marketer and accountant,” Banks points out. “BrokerLink has dedicated resources to help lighten the load, which lets the business owner and broker focus on the customer.”

Scale further enhances access to a wide variety of insurance markets and products. “Joining another organization can feel like unchartered territory,” suggests Drew McFarlane, president of McFarlane and Company Financial Group.

“However, we were reassured by BrokerLink’s access to numerous insurance products and markets. We know our customers will have the right options to meet their needs,” McFarlane continues.

One of the largest Canadian p&c insurance brokerages, BrokerLink companies – subsidiaries of Intact Financial Corporation – have more than 115 offices supported by more than 1,400 employees across Ontario, Alberta and Atlantic Canada.

In 2017 alone, a number of brokerages have joined BrokerLink. These include one in Alberta and five in Ontario.

Related: Ontario’s Lanoue Insurance Brokers joins Brokerlink