McDougall’s growth in Alberta proceeds apace

McDougall Insurance Brokers Ltd. announced Thursday it has merged with MHK Insurance Inc., a 110-year-old independent brokerage based in Alberta.

MHK is a full-service brokerage offering home, auto, and commercial insurance products and services, specializing in more than 12 business insurance lines — including construction, hospitality, oil and gas, retail property management, technology and retail and independent business. It has offices located in Edmonton, Calgary, and Bonnyville, Alta.

The news follows after Alberta brokerage Drayden Insurance, a division of Ontario brokerage McDougall Insurance, acquired Darson Insurance Services in Stony Plain, Alta., in January 2024.

McDougall Insurance is a subsidiary of Definity Financial Corporation. In October 2022, Definity increased its ownership interest in McDougall from 25% to 75%. The insurer owned approximately 78% of the brokerage as of October 2023.

“With nearly 80 full-time employees and a history going back 110 years, MHK is a perfect fit to strengthen our Alberta presence and join with our eight Drayden Insurance offices,” said Ross McDougall, CEO of McDougall Insurance.

“We continue to grow in Alberta and now have approximately 200 employees in the province, and we feel very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to partner with such a well-respected, customer-oriented, and community-minded brokerage.”

MHK’s executive team of Jeff Homynyk, president and CEO, Jill Repchuk, chief operating officer, and Jana Lumsden, chief financial officer, along with other members of their leadership, will continue to guide MHK Insurance going forward.

“In order to even consider such a deal, many factors were important to me and to our team,” Homynyk commented about the deal. “Our alignment in terms of values, culture, way of doing business, relationships with our staff, our clients, our insurers, and our community, and continued operational independence led to my decision that McDougall Insurance was the right choice in every way that mattered.”

In May 2023, McDougall entered into a $232-million merger with Ontario brokerage McFarlan Rowlands, and Definity at the time announced it had plans to grow much larger.

“Our objective is to be a Top 5 player, and if you think about the path we’re on, we’re doing really well….” Definity president and CEO Rowan Saunders said during Definity’s 2023 Q1 earnings call.

“But there’s a pretty significant gap between ourselves getting into that Top 5, at roughly $1 billion [the gap in DPW between Definity and Wawanesa was close to $800 million in 2021, according to MSA Research]. “And so…in addition to strong organic growth, we would need an acquisition of approximately $1 billion of revenue that would put us into that Top 5 position.”

Saunders said at the time the plan was to expand by the acquisitions of more brokerages, as well as a carrier, although no names were mentioned during the conference call.

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