In the inaugural 15-minute episode of CU’s What’s on Dec?, Smythe LLP partner Mike Berris discusses how market forces affect multiples and brokers’ selling habits. He also talks about how the current interest rates will influence M&A activity, business issues…
Canadian Underwriter is pleased to announce today’s launch of its new podcast series, What’s on Dec? in partnership with industry veterans Pete Tessier and Curt Wyatt. Tessier and Wyatt will be well-known to those who listen to The Insurance Podcast,…
Succession planning is a key component of the acquisition strategies employed by P&C brokers buying wealth management, retirement planning and employee benefits advisories. That said, P&C brokerage buyers aren’t looking for the sellers to leave right away after the sale.…
It’s official — everyone and their dogs are announcing pet insurance mergers, acquisitions and partnerships. It started two days ago, when Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. completed the US$1.4-billion sale of its interests in Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group and…
Collectivfide Insurance Group has closed the acquisition of majority stakes in two Ontario-based brokerages, its 7th and 8th deals since its formation in 2019. “We are continuing to achieve our goal of growing and protecting mutual volume with the addition…
Imagine you’re a client who calls your broker to talk about renewing a policy, only to find they’ve sold the business and moved to Florida. It’s hardly an elegant retirement notification. A client would much rather be told about the…
Several Canadian commercial P&C brokerages are actively acquiring wealth management, retirement planning and employee benefits firms so they can boost revenues by adding to their product ranges. The simple math suggests a larger product suite — one that brings in…
Frequent announcements about Canadian P&C brokerages buying retirement and wealth planning advisories raises an interesting question: What do the acquirers offer to the employees of the firms they buy? The short answer is development opportunities, said Terri Botosan, regional president…
Portfolio analysis is key to buying or selling brokerages, and some portfolios are more attractive than others, Herb Cline, president of CF2K Strategic Consultants, told a session at the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario’s recent convention. “The flavor of the…
Recent merger deals announced by Canadian commercial P&C brokerages increasingly feature acquisitions of wealth management and employee benefits firms, and this is no accident, brokers tell Canadian Underwriter. This subset of M&A is about P&C brokerages becoming a type of…
P&C brokerage merger and acquisition activity in Canada remains strong and healthy, as evidenced by the number of deals announced in just the past couple of weeks. Those deals involve brokerages that include Westland Insurance Group, BrokerLink, Western Financial Group,…
BrokerLink has made its 19th and 20th acquisitions of 2022 with the purchase of two Ontario brokerages. The Intact Financial Corporation subsidiary said L&M Dallaire Insurance Ltd. and Cryderman Insurance Brokers Ltd. joined BrokerLink effective Oct. 1. Both brokerages offer…