The top five mid-market brokerage firms located in the Western region of the U.S.

HEADQUARTERS: Walnut Creek, Calif.

2011 U.S. BROKERAGE REVENUES: $74,282,000

Walnut Creek, Calif.-based Heffernan Group, the fifth-largest broker based in the West, derives 80% of its 2011 U.S. brokerage revenues of $74.3 million from its home region.

In addition, 75% of those revenues are attributable to middle-market business, according to F. Michael Heffernan, president and CEO.

Heffernan Group defines middle-market business as accounts generating between $10,000 and $200,000 in revenues and employing anywhere from 25 to 500 individuals.

“All classes of business can fall into what we define as middle market,” Mr. Heffernan said. “From construction ac¬counts to technology ac¬counts, property owner ac¬counts to nonprofit accounts, they all have some representation in the middle market.”

As such, Heffernan Group places all lines of coverage for these middle-market clients, including property, liability, workers compensation, professional liability, employee benefits, and financial services such as retirement plan administration and asset management.

%%BREAK%%

HEADQUARTERS: San Diego

2011 U.S. BROKERAGE REVENUES: $85,166,547

Barney & Barney L.L.C., the fourth-largest commercial insurance broker based in the West, generates nearly all — 98% — of its $85.2 million in 2011 brokerage revenues in its home region.

The San Diego-based broker defines its middle-market clients as having between 50 and 2,000 covered lives for employee benefits and between $100,000 and $2 million in premium for commercial property/casualty services. Ninety percent of its U.S. revenues are derived from middle-market business.

Barney & Barney caters to regional and national businesses within industries including, but not limited to, technology, life science, hospitality, health care, construction and apparel sectors.

To better serve these clients, Barney & Barney's client service teams comprise consultants with industry-specific expertise who can provide risk management and employee benefits solutions tailored to the unique needs of the businesses being served. Products offered include employee benefits, property/casualty, workers compensation, directors and officers liability and surety bonds.

%%BREAK%%

HEADQUARTERS:Torrance, Calif.

2011 U.S. BROKERAGE REVENUE: $144,148,000

Keenan & Associates is the third-largest commercial insurance broker headquartered in the West, based on U.S. brokerage revenues of $144.1 million, all of which is generated in its headquarters region.

The broker, which launched in 1972 to serve mostly elementary and secondary educational institutions in California, also provides property/casualty, workers compensation and employee benefits brokerage and administration services to hospitals and other health care providers, school districts and public entities.

Although Keenan has some very large clients, the vast majority are in the middle market, said President and CEO Sean Smith.

“We've got some monster-size cases — very large counties — but the average city or school district is 400 to 500 lives,” he said. Because California public entities are very price-conscious due to state budget cuts, “we aggregate a lot of that business into joint power authorities,” also known as public entity pools, which can be more cost-effective, he added.

%%BREAK%%

HEADQUARTERS: Cedar City, Utah

2011 U.S. BROKERAGE REVENUES: $188,245,000

Despite having its headquarters in sparsely populated southern Utah, the Leavitt Group is the second-largest commercial insurance broker headquartered in the Western United States, based on 2011 brokerage revenues of $188.2 million.

The Cedar City, Utah-based company defines middle-market business as accounts generating at least $15,000 in agency revenue, or $150,000 in premium.

“These businesses are looking for a strategic risk management platform that may include claims advocacy, work comp claims assistance, loss control, (human resources) services and other value-added services and guidance beyond the insurance policy itself,” said Eric Leavitt, president.

Among the businesses the Leavitt Group serves in the middle market are manufacturers, food industry operations and food distribution, restaurants, wholesalers, resellers, hospitality and other clients “they require the broker to really understand the nuances around the client's business,” he said.

%%BREAK%%

HEADQUARTERS: Newport Beach, Calif.

2011 U.S. BROKERAGE REVENUES: $460,193,545

Alliant Insurance Services Inc. is the largest commercial insurance broker headquartered in the West, based on 2011 U.S. brokerage revenues of $460.2 million.

While its roots may be in California, the Newport Beach-based broker serves some 20,000 clients across the nation, providing insurance and risk management solutions for a complete range of risks.

While Alliant does not account for its middle-market business separately, it defines this client segment as property/casualty accounts that generate $15,000 to $150,000 in brokerage revenue and benefit accounts with 50 to 3,000 employees.

Its middle-market clients represent “the full spectrum of businesses we serve across all our key specialties,” a spokesman said. These include public entities, tribal nations, health care, energy, law firms, real estate, construction companies.

Similarly, the coverage brokered to the middle market runs the gamut from commercial property and general liability, workers comp and benefits to credit and political risk, cyber risk and kidnap and ransom.

See the top five Regional mid-market broker leaders: U.S. Northeast-headquartered firms.

A ranking of the top 10 brokers in each region is available in the weekly edition of Business Insurance. To subscribe to Business Insurance, click here.