By Elise Linscott
Alliant Insurance Services, the nation’s largest specialty insurance brokerage firm, has acquired Todd Garibaldi Insurance Agency (TGI) as part of ongoing efforts to focus on agribusiness and other specialty industries.
Alliant president and chief financial officer Greg Zimmer said the acquisition will be beneficial for the insurance brokers as well.
“We believe the brokers will find joining Alliant beneficial to both themselves and their clients due to our deep product and industry expertise as well as the extensive resources available to them,” Zimmer said.
Both organizations are based in California, and TGI is the second agribusiness-focused agency Alliant has purchased so far this year. The company says this acquisition is part of its growth plan, both solidifying its presence in California’s agribusiness and food processing risk management industry and also shifting into specialty industries like agribusiness, construction, public entity, energy, tribal nations and employee benefits.
“With Alliant’s goal to build verticals, we will continue to look for companies with similar characteristics (industry focus, production-oriented approach, and strong client relationships) to target for growth,” Zimmer said.
This acquisition follows a growing trend across insurance, particularly for middle-market insurance companies who lack the financial stability of larger companies. This also allows larger companies with more capital to diversify, with less risk that low or falling rates will be their downfall.
And the big companies keep getting bigger. For instance, California-based Confie Seguros, a national personal lines and small commercial insurance broker owned by private equity firm Avery Capital Partners, has acquired and integrated over 80 acquisitions since it was founded in 2008, with 20 acquisitions in the last year alone, according to its website.
