Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. and Brown & Brown, Inc. executed a definitive agreement to sell Berkshire Insurance Group, Inc. (BIG), a subsidiary of Berkshire Hills, to Brown & Brown of Massachusetts, LLC, a subsidiary of Brown & Brown.
The transaction is subject to customary conditions, the companies said, and is expected to be completed in the third quarter. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
BIG opened in 2000 and provides personal and commercial property and casualty insurance solutions.
Brown & Brown offered positions to existing BIG employees, resulting in no job eliminations. After the acquisition, BIG will become a new stand-alone operation within Brown & Brown’s Retail Segment under the leadership of John Flaherty.
BIG’s Massachusetts offices in Greenfield, Longmeadow, Pittsfield, Stockbridge and Westfield will continue to operate from their current locations. Other BIG locations will physically combine with existing Brown & Brown offices.
In addition, through a partner relationship, Berkshire Bank will continue to refer customers to Brown & Brown. Don McGowan, a regional president in Brown & Brown’s Retail Segment with responsibility for various offices in Massachusetts and the Northeast, will oversee the new, combined operations.
“This transaction allows us to further expand our footprint in Massachusetts with several new strategic locations that we believe enable us to better serve our customers,” McGowan said. “We are excited to welcome all of the talented BIG teammates to the Brown & Brown organization and look forward to finding fresh opportunities to offer a wide range of insurance products and services to new and existing customers.”
