James R. Weir Insurance bought by Illinois company

May 21--James R. Weir Insurance Agency, which started in Mankato in 1967, was bought by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., the companies announced Thursday.

Jay Weir, president of James R. Weir Insurance Agency, said the sale closed on Wednesday after a lengthy process. The terms were not disclosed.

"Mankato has gotten a lot of attention recently because of its growth," he said. "Their firm had an eye on Mankato and there were a bunch of clients that we had that they were interested in."

The Weir agency has provided property and casualty, risk management consulting, employee benefits and personal lines insurance services to mid-to-large market clients in the Midwest. The agency has specialized in coverage for religious, construction, healthcare and food service industries.

The agency will operate under the direction of Michael Pesch, head of Gallagher's Midwest region retail property and casualty brokerage operations.

Gallagher, based in Itasca, Ill., has operations in 30 countries and has client-service capabilities in more than 140 countries around the world through a network of correspondent brokers and consultants.

Weir and all of the local agency's nine employees will remain with the company, operating under the Gallagher name. The Mankato office will remain in its current location, while the Edina office will move into Gallagher's Bloomington office, Jay Weir said.

For Weir agency clients, the acquisition means more resources and options, Weir said.

"There are a lot more insurance companies we'll be able to work with and we'll have more resources for claims handling and loss control," he said. "They have claims experts and loss experts on staff."

And Arthur J. Gallagher's training and retention programs will help the local insurance agency grow staff in quality and numbers. Gallagher has more than 20,000 employees and generated about $4.6 billion in revenue in 2014.

"We work with the best clients," Weir said. "Even though it's such a big company, every office has a big impact. We're excited to carry their banner."

Weir said it's just a continuation of the principles that his father used in starting the company.

"On Labor Day weekend in 1967, my dad just decided to move to Mankato and start an insurance company with the idea of doing a great job for one client at a time," Weir said. "It's pretty cool that we're now joining a big organization that serves the same role that my dad served."

Follow Nancy Madsen on Twitter @nmadsenmfp.

___

(c)2015 The Free Press (Mankato, Minn.)

Visit The Free Press (Mankato, Minn.) at www.mankatofreepress.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.