Risk Strategies CEO: Acquisition Will Build Real Estate/Condo Business

Insurance broker and risk management firm Risk Strategies Co. said it has acquired Millbrae, Calif.-based UPA Insurance Brokers as it builds a national real estate and condominium insurance practice. The company's chief executive officer said the deal is a nice match with Risk Strategies' commercial real estate expertise.

Terms of the acquisition weren't disclosed.

UPA, which represents most major insurance companies and several regional carriers, specializes in commercial real estate, homeowners' associations, financial services, nonprofits and hospitality industries in Northern California.

Risk Strategies has been expanding nationally, CEO Michael Christian told Best's News Service. Last year the company merged with Cohn-Reid-O'Neill Insurance Services Inc. in San Mateo, Calif. and Risk Strategies wanted to continue to grow in California, he said.

"As we expand, we look to grow in different niches and we feel we have some expertise in the commercial real estate, developer, construction arena," Christian said.

In addition to the merger with Cohn-Reid-O'Neill, Risk Strategies bought Needham, Mass.-based Global Insurance Network, which specializes in real estate and condos. At the time, the company said the acquisition was important to its strategic growth plan of diversifying its client portfolio and expanding its staff and client based in the Boston area (Best's News Service, Dec. 9, 2011).

Real estate, like many markets today, is one that's slightly depressed but is certainly one that will come back, Christian said.

"It's always a market that needs insurance," he said. "It's consistent and has long-term prospects."

Real estate and condo insurance also balance out the company's array of products, he said.

UPA's principals, John Uhl and Chris Palmer, will join Risk Strategies' management team in the Bay Area and help grow its real estate, homeowners, nonprofit and financial services practice.

The rest of UPA's staff will become employees of Risk Strategies and will be located at the San Mateo office to bolster the company's Bay Area operations.

Risk Strategies distributes property and liability insurance and employee benefits insurance products to privately held and publicly traded commercial clients in the middle to upper middle market.

(By Marie Suszynski)