Southborough-based Renaissance Alliance has announced two major acquisitions to start off the new year. The agency network alliance announced that in two separate transactions it has acquired both the Agency Network Exchange (ANE) and the United Valley Insurance Services adding approximately $2.4bn in premium to the agency network’s numbers.
“The addition of ANE and United Valley will help Renaissance deliver more value to all of our member agencies, further demonstrating our commitment to helping them grow,” said Kevin Callahan, Renaissance Alliance’s Chairman and CEO. “Our overarching strategy is focused on strengthening the capabilities of our member agencies and providing them everything they need to best serve their clients. Together we will help our members enhance their profitability while maintaining their independence.”
Founded in 2009 by two New Jersey-based agencies, ANE, has grown over the past decade with expansions into both Pennsylvania and New York. As one of the fastest-growing networks of independent agencies in the U.S, it represents $1.4bn in premium among its 60 agency members.
“Renaissance shares our vision for helping independent agencies thrive in an industry that is rapidly evolving,” said Agency Network Exchange CEO Elizabeth Schenk. “Our combined premium scale in the Northeastern U.S. provides an opportunity to better align with our strategic carrier partners. We are joining an organization that strengthens our position as we continually advocate for our agency members.”
Based in Fresno, Calif., United Valley Insurance Services was founded in 1983 as a local, Central Valley insurance agency network with seven member agencies. Today, its consolidated membership of agencies in California and Arizona represents $1bn in total written premium with more than 60 shared carriers.
“We’re pleased to be partnering with an organization completely focused on agency growth and providing maximum benefit to its members,” said Rene Swan, President of United Valley Insurance Services. “Those motivations have always been the driving force behind United Valley’s service to our member agencies, and we look forward to enhancing the value we deliver to them as part of the Renaissance family.”
According to the terms of the transaction, ANE and United Valley will continue to operate under their current brands and with their current leadership in place. No further terms of the transaction were disclosed.
Renaissance Alliance’s plans for national growth
Originally formed as a coalition of independent agencies, insurers, and service providers who work together to deliver “Best in Business” insurance services and products to personal and commercial insureds throughout New England, Renaissance Alliance began to expand its vision beyond our borders after its sale to Long Arc Capital in 2018. Since then, the company has implemented an aggressive growth strategy, adding nearly 30 new independent insurance agencies alone in 2021, and expanding its footprint into Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
“We acquired Renaissance in 2018 and over the last three years have invested heavily in talent, operations, and service to provide an industry-leading product to our member agents,” said Gaurav Bhandari, Managing Partner of Long Arc Capital. “With the core infrastructure now in place, we are excited to scale the business further through these two acquisitions that will not only give us presence in the important Mid-Atlantic and Western U.S. markets, but also, given our aggregated premium, give us scale to further improve the value proposition for our member agents.”
With the addition of ANE and United Valley, Renaissance Alliance’s membership ranks will now rise to 273 independent agency members representing $3.6bn in premium as well as increasing its presence into the states of Arizona, California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
