Dominant brokerage adds 2 new acquisitions

Global brokerage Hub International has expanded its already-sizable presence in Canada, acquiring new brokerages in Ontario and Manitoba.

 

Hub International Ontario (Hub Ontario), a subsidiary of Hub International, has acquired the shares of The Dorsey Group Inc. (Dorsey), a Brantford, Ontario-based insurance brokerage firm offering personal and commercial products and services.  

 

It has also acquired the shares of Southeastern Insurance Services Ltd. (Southeastern), a Steinbach, Manitoba-based full-service insurance brokerage firm.  

Terms of the acquisitions were not disclosed.  

 

The Dorsey operations will expand Hub’s footprint into southwestern Ontario, adding new offices in Brantford and Simcoe.  Paula Dorsey will join Hub Ontario as vice president, reporting to Sharlene Locke, president of personal lines at Hub Ontario, and Greg Hill, president of Hub Ontario’s personal lines.

 

“The Dorsey Group allows Hub Ontario to expand into a market in which we currently do not have a presence, with one of the best firms in the area,” Clark Wormer, director of mergers and acquisitions at HUB International Limited, said in a statement to Insurance Business. “Paula Dorsey is very well-respected in the province and will be a welcome addition to the leadership team of Ontario.”

 

The Dorsey Group was a Top 3 finalist for the Insurance Broker Association of Ontario’s ‘Brokerage of the Year’ in 2011. The brokerage issued a statement emphasizing the change in ownership would not mean any changes to staff and result in business as usual for the brokerage. (continued.)

 

“The strong appeal of HUB's reputation, operating philosophy and investment in technology were important factors in our decision to join the HUB team,” The Dorsey Group said. “HUB relies on its regional operations (hubs) to serve as the platforms for growth.”

 

In Manitoba, the Southeastern operations, founded in 1977, will become part of the Hub International Horizon (Hub Horizon) operations in Steinbach.

 

"One of the reasons we were interested in this deal was due to the location – Steinbach is a terrific community,” said Keith Jordan, president and CEO of Hub Horizon. “It has a population of about 13,000 people and growing quite rapidly. It is a 45-minute drive from Winnipeg, and continues our growth in communities circling Winnipeg.  

 

“The business community is young and entrepreneurial. Southeastern had a great track record of growth and a good commercial book, with terrific employees. That made them a very attractive acquisition."