The J. Morey Company, Inc. Insurance Agents & Brokers, a California-based property and casualty broker, has announced the acquisition of Los Angeles-based Aihara & Associates Insurance Services.
Founded in 1946 by Luis Aihara, Aihara & Associates offers personal, commercial and life insurance products. The agency began by selling auto and home insurance to Japanese-American clients shortly after the Second World War, a time when insurance companies limited or restricted products available to Japanese-Americans.
As the Japanese-American community gained more economic power and Japanese businesses came to America to conduct business, the agency was instrumental in helping Japanese clients establish their corporations in the US due to their familiarity with Japanese language and culture. In 1993, Luis Aihara’s son, Douglas, took over the business. After 75 years, Aihara & Associates was ready to partner with another agency.
“The J. Morey Company was the best choice,” Douglas Aihara said. “They agreed to let the Aihara Insurance Agency continue working under our name for as long as J. Morey agency owns the company. I feel strongly that this was the ideal outcome for all parties.”
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Douglas Aihara and fellow principal Robert Todd Uyemura will continue to remain involved in agency operations. The company will continue to do business as Aihara & ASsociates Insurance Services.
“I emphatically believe in the perpetuation of minority communities and the need to specialize in servicing these communities, taking into consideration culture and language,” said Joshua Morey, president and owner of The J. Morey Company. “My father, John, and uncles Jack and Jim, have instilled values of community that are bigger than anything we can do on our own.
“It’s an honor to assist in the perpetuation of the Aihara family’s 75 years of cultural footprints in our Japanese-American community. Our firm’s duty is to preserve and grow the legacies of those who’ve gone before us.”
