Hub’s latest acquisition of Golden Ears, a BC-based general insurance broker, comes amid some softening.
“We’re starting to see the market softening in some areas with respect to cargo and liability” said Tim Geddes (pictured left), chief sales officer of Hub’s coastal region.
In an interview with Insurance Business, Geddes and Carol Mills (pictured right), president & CEO of Hub’s Coastal Region, spoke about the rationale behind its Golden Ears buy and differences between the Canadian and US markets.
“Finding excess liability in the US continues to be extremely difficult and extremely pricey, thanks to some nuclear verdicts” Geddes said.
“That's why having more options and more opportunities for Golden Ears is key to this transaction. Thankfully, the Canadian liability space is very different than America’s.”
The transportation sector is a market where Golden Ears has had the ability to grow a mature presence in, the duo said.
“Golden Ears haven't had the ability to necessarily cross sell their business or look at how they can round out the accounts,” Mills said.
With Hub’s backing, it is hoped the business will see accelerated growth.
“With the expanded market, it allows them to reach out to some of the clients that they weren't able to support,” Geddes said.
“Being able to keep the clients they have, as well as attract and develop some new clients that they didn't have the capability of providing the services that they needed to is something we are excited to help with.”
Since 1990, Hub has engaged in over 700 M&A deals.
“First and foremost, we want to make sure clients aren’t disrupted during this process,” Mills said.
However, this does not mean that certain ways of conducting business will not see some form of change.
“It doesn't mean that there are changes over time, but it's also not ripping off a band aid the day that was announced and performing a complete overhaul,” Mills said.
What makes an M&A particularly successful in the end is not totally revamping a company, but finding the areas that can find incremental improvement through education and other means, according to the Hub leaders.
“The best thing about the acquisitions is that we can take the best of what they do and deploy it out on a on a broader scale,” Geddes said.
“In turn, look at the resources that we have to bring to their clients and slowly educate them about what Hub brings to the table.”
