Richmond, Virginia-based The Hilb Group has acquired Wilmington’s JWB Insurance Group as part of continuing efforts to grow the firm, the companies announced Tuesday.
JWB Insurance Group, a 22-employee firm, “provides specialty services in employee benefits and commercial insurance, with expanded offerings in individual and personal lines,” according to a news release.
The transaction took effect Aug. 1. The Hilb Group did not disclose terms or the amount of the deal, but officials said all of JWB Insurance Group’s employees would keep their positions and continue to operate under its existing leadership.
Joining The Hilb Group will help the Wilmington office pursue growth opportunities, Larry Wolfe, JWB Insurance Group president, said in the release.
“We also gain additional product and service offerings that will benefit our existing clients,” he said.
The office, 4010 Oleander Drive, Suite 11, is a United Healthcare Platinum and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina President’s Club agency.
Wolfe and Jim Warren started the independent insurance consulting agency in 1995.
“Over nearly two decades, we’ve worked diligently to build a business that gives us a sense of pride. The Hilb Group recognizes that our traditions and family-focused culture are important to us and wants us to maintain our identity,” Warren, vice president of JWB Insurance Group, said. “This is about more than money. This is about joining a really great team.”
The deal marks The Hilb Group’s seventh acquisition this year, according to the release. Officials with the company, a middle market insurance agency that is a portfolio company of Boston-based private equity firm ABRY Partners, said the latest move is part of its national expansion plan and strengthens its East Coast presence. It now has 35 offices nationally.
“Not only does JWB have an impressive, long-standing track record of success, it has proven expertise in areas we’re focused on growing, including in the employee benefits and commercial insurance service lines,” Robert J. Hilb, The Hilb Group president and CEO, said in the release.
