Westland makes two more acquisitions

Westland Insurance Group Ltd. has announced the acquisition of two brokerages in the Canadian Prairies: Church Eaton Insurance of Calgary and Hook Lafrance Insurance in Regina.

Westland’s president and chief operating officer Jamie Lyons said in a press release Monday that Church Eaton brings “niche commercial expertise and specialist capabilities within key industry verticals, adding further depth to our rapidly expanding national commercial lines platform.” For its part, Hook Lafrance “provides tremendous service to the Regina market with expertise in all segments of the property and casualty insurance business.

Among others, Church Eaton’s products include couriers/messenger services, petroleum, private & semi-private clubs and golf clubs, technology, and transportation and taxis. Hook Lafrance offers residential insurance, auto insurance, farm and commercial insurance.

“Both operations are long-standing, highly-regarded brokerages that align with and augment our distribution network in the Prairies, which continues to be a strategic region of focus for Westland as we seek to bring more solutions to Canadians coast-to-coast,” Lyons said.

With these latest acquisitions, Westland now has 195 locations in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. As one of the largest P&C brokerages in Canada, Westland trades over $2.5 billion of premium.

Westland has acquired approximately 20 brokerages this year alone. Its most recent acquisitions include:

• Personal and commercial lines brokerage Harvest Insurance in Steinbach, Man. (announced Nov. 3);
• Personal and commercial brokerage Insurance Unlimited in Mississauga, Ont. (announced Oct. 5);
• Tredd Insurance Brokers in Toronto and Calgary, announced Sept. 15. Tredd has expertise in the transportation and energy sectors; and
• Riverstone Insurance in Canmore, Alta. and Hill ‘n’ Dale Insurance Ltd. in Breton, Alta. Both brokerages provide residential, auto, farm and commercial insurance; Hill n Dale also provides vehicle registry services.

Feature image by iStock.com/mikdam