insurance agency

Confie Seguros, a provider of personal lines insurance and a portfolio company of ABRY Partners, has acquired California Insurance Specialists, a provider of homeowners and auto insurance. With this acquisition, Confie has now acquired and integrated over 100 businesses since its inception.

California Insurance Specialists (CIS) is an independent personal lines insurance agency whose focus is providing homeowners and auto policies. CIS has over 40,000 policy holders with combined annual premiums of more than $31 million. The agency was founded in 1972 and has two locations in California – one in its Santa Ana headquarters and an additional office in Bakersfield – and an office in Dallas (www.calins.com).

“The acquisition of CIS advances Confie’s plan to expand into the standard and preferred personal and small commercial lines,” said Valeria Rico, Chief Executive Officer of Confie. “CIS will serve as a strong platform to strengthen our existing operations in California and Texas.  We are very excited about the opportunity to expand CIS through additional acquisitions and organic growth.”

Confie Seguros was acquired by ABRY Partners in November 2012 from Genstar Capital. Genstar partnered with insurance executives in 2008 to establish Confie Seguros and built the company into a national insurance distribution company primarily focused on the needs of Hispanic consumers.  During Genstar’s ownership, the company grew to over 300 retail locations with annual revenues exceeding $200 million.

CIS President Wayne Pratt, who joined CIS in 1976, and Senior Vice President Randy Parker, who joined in 1993, will continue with the company under Confie Seguros ownership. All of the company’s other 33 employees will remain with CIS.

Confie Seguros is a national insurance distribution company primarily focused on the insurance needs of Hispanic consumers.  The company was founded in 2008 and has annual revenue approaching $500 million and over 680 retail locations.  Confie Seguros is headquartered in New York (www.confie.com).

Confie Seguros has sizable market positions in California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Washington, Oregon, New York, New Jersey, Nevada, Illinois, Alabama, Kansas, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Missouri, Louisiana, and Indiana and expects to continue its expansion in those and other states, including  Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina.

© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-16-15

AssuredPartners, an independent insurance agent and a portfolio company of GTCR, has acquired Chapple Insurance Group. Since 2011, AssuredPartners has acquired more than 80 insurance agencies.

Chapple Insurance Group represents over 1,000 property and casualty clients in a wide range of industries throughout the United States, China, Canada, Mexico and Iraq.  The $2.5 million dollar-agency will continue to operate from its current location and will be led by Charles Chapple. The agency is based in Wichita, KS (www.cigcorp.com).

The addition of Chapple to the Midwest region brings another large regional market under the AssuredPartner umbrella. “Chapple Insurance has an excellent reputation and an impressive client list, both in the Wichita area and beyond,” said SRA President Randy Larsen. “We have followed their success for a long time and are thrilled to have them join Assured’s Midwest region.”

AssuredPartners acquires and invests in insurance brokerage businesses (property and casualty, employee benefits, surety, managing general agencies, and wholesalers) across the United States and in the UK. From its founding in 2011, AssuredPartners has acquired more than 80 insurance firms and today has approximately $420 million in annual revenue with more than 100 offices in 27 states as well as two London offices. The company is led by Jim Henderson (CEO) and Tom Riley (COO) and is headquartered north of Orlando in Lake Mary, FL (www.assuredptr.com).

GTCR pioneered the investment strategy of identifying and partnering with executives to acquire and build companies through a combination of acquisitions and internal growth. The firm currently has nearly $11 billion in assets under management. Since its inception in 1980, GTCR has invested more than $10 billion in over 200 companies. The firm is based in Chicago (www.gtcr.com).

© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 1-29-15