USI Closes on Acquisition of Suncoast Insurance Associates

USI Insurance Services said it has closed on the acquisition of Suncoast Insurance Associates Inc., a Tampa, Fla.-based insurance brokerage that provides the design, delivery and servicing of professional liability programs for more than 1,500 firms in Florida.

The transaction is expected to contribute about $3 million in revenue to USI on an annual basis, USI said. Terms were not disclosed.

"For almost four decades, Suncoast Insurance Associates has been the 'go-to' insurance agency for the design firm marketplace in Florida." said James W. Dunn, USI's regional chief executive officer for the Southeast, in a statement. "In addition to architects and engineers, Suncoast has growing practices providing professional liability for health care, technology, accounting and law firms."

The move has bolstered USI's national footprint in professional liability, with significant practices in the Northwest, Southwest, Midwest and now the Southeast, Dunn said.

It's been a busy summer for USI, acquisition-wise. In July, USI acquired Kelly Insurance Brokerage, considered one of the largest Asian brokerage firms in the New York metropolitan area. It was to be combined in Emerson Reid and Co., USI's benefits wholesale operation, which is headquartered in New York. The acquisition extends Emerson Reid's benefits reach in the tri-state area as well as in the Asian marketplace, said Arthur W. Hall, Emerson Reid's CEO, in a statement (Best's News Service, July 25, 2012).

In June, USI acquired Lynch, Beretta and Bucci Insurance, a Pawtucket, R.I.-based property/casualty insurance agency, for undisclosed terms. Lynch, Beretta and Bucci specializes in Rhode Island contractors and restaurant insurance, but also offers personal lines, commercial lines and specialty products (Best's News Service, June 14, 2012).

USI Holdings Corp. is the 13th-largest top global broker based on 2011 total revenue of $659.5 million, according to Best's Review's annual ranking.

(By Caroline Saucer, editor, BestWeek: [email protected])