Brown & Brown to expand in Massachusetts with buy

Brown & Brown of Massachusetts LLC, a subsidiary of Brown & Brown Inc.,  has agreed to acquire Berkshire Insurance Group Inc., the insurance agency unit of Boston-based Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc. 

Formed in 2000, Berkshire Insurance Group places personal and commercial property and casualty insurance coverages in the Northeast. 

Following the acquisition, Berkshire Insurance Group will become a stand-alone operation within Brown & Brown’s retail segment, the companies said in a statement Tuesday. The operation will be led by John Flaherty, currently a senior vice president at Berkshire Insurance Group, according to LinkedIn. 

Brown & Brown has offered positions to existing Berkshire Insurance Group employees resulting in no job eliminations, the companies said. Pittsfield-based Berkshire Insurance Group has about 49 employees, according to LinkedIn. 

Berkshire Insurance Group’s offices in Greenfield, Longmeadow, Pittsfield, Stockbridge and Westfield, Massachusetts, will continue to operate from their current locations, while its other offices will combine with existing Brown & Brown offices, the companies said. 

Berkshire Bank will also continue to refer customers to Brown & Brown via a partner relation, according to the statement. 

Don McGowan, a regional president in Brown & Brown’s retail segment, will oversee the combined operations. 

Berkshire Hills will record a net gain on sale of around $0.55 per share on a GAAP basis in the third quarter, CEO Nitin J. Mhatre said in the statement. 

The deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter. 

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