BrokerLink acquires brokerages in Alberta, Ontario

BrokerLink has announced the acquisition of three new brokerages in Canada — one in Alberta and two in Ontario.

The Intact Financial Corporation subsidiary said Monday it had acquired Alberta-based Blue Circle Insurance Brokers Ltd., as well as Ontario-based Stevenson Insurance Brokers Limited and McVey Bros. Insurance Brokers Ltd., effective Nov. 1.

“These acquisitions enable BrokerLink to extend its local, personalized insurance service and solutions to even more customers in these communities,” BrokerLink said in a press release, adding that the employees of these three brokerages are now part of the BrokerLink team. The brokerage is one of Canada’s largest property and casualty insurance brokerages, with more than 200 branches and 3,000 employees.

Founded in 2001, Blue Circle Insurance has provided tailored coverage to customers in Calgary and Edmonton for 20 years. As a full-service brokerage, Blue Circle offers home, auto and commercial insurance, as well as a specialized motorcycle insurance program.

For its part, Stevenson Insurance has been serving the city of Barrie, Ont. and the surrounding area since 1921. The brokerage provides home, auto, commercial and farm insurance solutions that are “tailored to each customer’s unique needs,” BrokerLink said.

Ottawa-based McVey Bros. Insurance has served customers for 23 years in the nation’s capital and its surrounding towns of Manotick, Greely, Metcalfe, Russell, Osgoode, Winchester, Kemptville, Chesterville “and all others in between.” It provides home, auto, commercial, farm and life insurance.

In other recent M&A news, iA Financial Corporation Inc. said at the beginning of the month that it had acquired a majority stake in online insurance brokerage Surex. iA Financial Corporation, the holding company of iA Financial Group, said Nov. 2 it acquired 70% of the shares of Surexdirect.com Ltd. and Surexdirect.com (Ontario) Ltd. (collectively “Surex”).

Surex co-founders Lance Miller and Matt Alston remain minority shareholders.

Founded in 2011 with a head office in Magrath, Alta., Surex combines online self-serve capabilities with experienced advisors to serve all of Canada, except Quebec. It can offer more than a dozen quotes from insurers through the Surex.com platform, particularly for car, home and business insurance, iA Financial Group said in a release.

Feature image by iStock.com/metamorworks