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Brown & Brown buys WBR Insurance

Posted On: Aug. 9, 2019 10:07 AM CST

Acquisition

Brown & Brown Inc. has acquired WBR Insurance Agency LLC, Wilson Insurance Agency Inc., Bell Insurance Agency Corp. and Robertson Insurance Agency Co., which collectively constitute WBR Insurance, Brown & Brown said Friday.

The move continues a trend of major brokers buying businesses that previously operated as part of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., which announced it is moving to an independent distribution model

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Virginia Beach, Virginia-based WBR supplies property/casualty insurance products to businesses in Virginia and other states along the East Coast, Brown & Brown said in a statement, and recently became an independent insurance broker after operating for most of its history as part of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.

WBR employees will continue to operate from their existing office as a branch location of Brown & Brown’s Norfolk, Virginia, operations under Bill Strachan and David McIlravy, president and executive vice president of Brown & Brown Insurance Agency of Virginia Inc., respectively, the statement said.

“When Nationwide decided to change its distribution model from an exclusive to independent agency platform, we set out to find a larger independent partner that could serve the needs of our customers and employee team members,” WBR principal Alex Bell said in the statement.

Daytona Beach, Florida-based Brown & Brown is the world's seventh-largest insurance brokerage, according to Business Insurance's latest ranking.