Cross acquires Willis NNE
Cross Insurance has acquired all the Willis Northern New England operations in Maine in a merger that Cross CEO Royce Cross says cements his company’s position as the largest insurance agency in the state.
“I believe in Maine, Willis would have been considered the largest underwriter in the health care, nonprofits and construction industries,” Cross told Mainebiz, while Cross is the largest underwriter overall. With the new business, Cross says the value of premiums under management now exceeds $700 million.
The Dec. 31, 2013 Willis deal was followed by a Jan. 2 acquisition of The Insurance Exchange Inc. in Stamford, Conn. Combined, Cross now operates offices in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Florida and New York.
The Willis merger also brings a new specialty to Cross: third-party administration and managing claims for self-insured groups.
“That’s a new thing for us. Otherwise, the merger gives us added depth in our other areas of business,” said Cross.
Cross said Willis’ approximately 70 employees have been retained, and its offices in Portland, Lewiston-Auburn and Bangor are transitioning to Cross branding. Because Willis had such visibility within business sectors, Cross said his company is doing all it can to make the transition transparent so clients aren’t inconvenienced.
The merger also brings Willis’ network of offices back to their Maine roots. Willis NNE was part of Willis Global Holdings, a multinational corporation that reported more than $791 million in revenues in its most recent quarter ended Sept. 30, 2013. Willis NNE came to Maine in 2007 by acquiring the HRH Co. in Auburn. HRH’s forerunner had been the Dunlap Agency, which merged with Virginia-based HRH in 2001. The Dunlap Agency’s roots extend back to 1869.
“Dunlap had always been a well-respected agency in Maine, ever since I started in the business,” said Cross. “So it’s nice that it is coming back to Maine ownership again.”
Cross said the merger sprang from a desire by Willis executives to concentrate more on the Boston market. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Cross has been growing steadily through a series of acquisitions for the past four years. In addition to buying agencies primarily around New England, it also became the official insurance agency of the Boston Red Sox, the New England Patriots and the Boston Bruins, and acquired the naming rights to the recently opened Bangor arena, the Cross Insurance Center.
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