Naples-based Lutgert Insurance has been acquired

Oct. 30--Lutgert Insurance has a new name and a new owner.

The Naples-based insurer has been acquired by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., a public company and international insurance brokerage and risk management services firm.

The local company is now known as Gallagher Lutgert Insurance. The deal is a result of a conversation that has gone on for more than 10 years, said Bud Hornbeck, who was one of four owners of Lutgert Insurance.

Hornbeck went to high school with the chairman of the acquiring company's brokerage division, he said, so they're good friends who have talked about the possibility of a merger for years.

"It made a lot of sense," he said. "Everything worked out well."

The merger made sense because the companies have similar clients and similar cultures, Hornbeck said.

"We have reached a point in our firm's life where we must expand our capabilities and resources so that we can meet and exceed the needs of our clients and provide career opportunities for our employees," he said.

Hornbeck serves as president of the new company, which will operate from the original firm's offices in Naples, Ave Maria, Sarasota, Fort Myers and Marco Island, and keep all of its employees.

"It does give us more strength, more clout," Hornbeck said.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has operations in 34 countries and offers clients services in more than 150 countries through a network of brokers and consultants.

"Lutgert Insurance has an outstanding team of professionals who will contribute significantly to solidifying our presence in Southwest Florida, as well as building out our private client practice in the state," said J. Patrick Gallagher Jr., the company's chairman, president and CEO, in a statement.

Founded in 1953, Lutgert Insurance, a retail property/casualty broker and benefit consultant, offered all lines of commercial and personal insurance, with a focus on construction, agriculture, hospitality, real estate development/property management, as well as on high net worth people.

The new company, Hornbeck said, will offer its clients more products and services. It will continue to be involved in the community, he said, and to give back, which has always been a priority for its owners.

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