Jan. 4, 2022 (SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass.) – Renaissance Alliance, the premier agency network, has acquired Agency Network Exchange (ANE) and United Valley Insurance Services in separate transactions, adding both organizations to its premier network of independent insurance agencies.
The two acquired networks collectively represent $2.4bn in premium and are key additions in Renaissance Alliance’s national growth strategy.
With these deals completed, both ANE’s 60 member agencies and United Valley’s 92 member agencies become part of Renaissance’s nationwide alliance of members – which now includes 273 independent agencies representing $3.6bn in premium. ANE and United Valley will continue to operate under their current brands and with their current leadership in place.
Renaissance currently represents independent agencies in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. These new transactions add agency strength in Arizona, California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania to its expanding footprint.
“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.”
“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.”
ANE, founded in 2009 by two New Jersey-based agencies, later expanded into Pennsylvania and New York and has become one of the fastest-growing networks of independent agencies in the U.S. Today, it represents $1.4bn in premium among its membership.
“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.”
Nearly 30 new independent agencies joined Renaissance Alliance in 2021. There is no entry fee and no exit fee for its member agencies, all of which remain 100% independently owned and operated as they leverage a full suite of products, technology, and services provided to help them grow. As a result, Renaissance’s member agencies grow at 2 to 4 times the average rate.
About Renaissance Alliance:
Renaissance Alliance, a Long Arc Capital portfolio company, works with independent property & casualty agency owners to grow premium, maximize revenue and increase agency value through increased profit sharing, guaranteed override revenue, and offloading non-revenue generating activities. The net effect is higher revenue, decreased expenses, less operational risk, and accelerated agency growth.
About Long Arc Capital:
Long Arc Capital is a private equity firm based in New York City dedicated to building and scaling breakthrough technology and technology-enabled businesses. Founded in 2016, Long Arc has six Partners collectively with over 150 years of investing and operating experience. The firm has a philosophy of “active ownership,” partnering with entrepreneurs and management teams by bringing to bear a comprehensive suite of resources that advance the human capital, strategic, product development, technology, and financial strengths of its portfolio companies, successfully driving their profitable growth.