Who bought who this past week in the Canadian P&C space?

Global insurance brokerage Hub International Limited has bought another Canadian firm as part of its ongoing strategy to expand its employee benefits and pension solutions.

Hub announced Monday it had acquired R Bruce Inc., doing business as RBI Advisory Group. Located in Okotoks, Alta., RBI Advisory Group has provided strategic group benefit advisory services to employers and associations for nearly 20 years.

Rick Achtymichuk, managing partner and owner of RBI Advisory Group, will join Hub International Insurance Brokers, a division of Hub International Canada West ULC (Hub Canada West).

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquisition came about a month after Hub acquired Saskatoon-based Regency Advisory Corporation, another employee benefits consulting firm on Oct. 2. Two days later, it bought Ottawa-based ProCorp Financial Inc., a boutique benefits and retirement consulting firm specializing in estate planning, group benefits, life insurance, critical illness insurance and disability insurance, among others.

On Friday, Intact’s BrokerLink subsidiary announced it had acquired Newmarket, Ont.-based Buckley Insurance Brokers, which places home, auto and commercial insurance.

In other acquisition-based news, Boston, Mass.-based Liberty Mutual said last week it had expanded its M&A practice into Canada. The global P&C insurer expanded Liberty Global Transaction Solutions (Liberty GTS) into Canada; production counsel Jonah Goldberg joined the Liberty team in Toronto as the first Canadian-based member of Liberty GTS.

Liberty reported its GTS team is one of the most experienced M&A teams within the global insurance market. GTS products include representations and warranties, tax liability insurance and contingent risk insurance.

Rowan Bamford, president of Liberty GTS, said there is a growing demand for M&A transaction insurance in the Canadian market. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company ranked 29^th by net premiums written of more than $306 million in Canada last year in Canadian Underwriter’s 2019 Stats Guide.

As part of Liberty Mutual Insurance, Liberty Mutual Canada has access to a wealth of commercial and specialty insurance solutions for mid-size and large companies, noted Garth Pepper, president of Liberty Mutual Canada. “We are thrilled to be able to offer Canadian clients and brokers access to Liberty’s global M&A expertise and capabilities.”