Akron Firm Buys Majority Stake in Best Hoovler

BY ADRIAN BURNS - BUSINESS FIRST, COLUMBUS DISPATCH (3-9-07)

The Columbus insurance market has a new player with a familiar name.

Best Hoovler McTeague Insurance Services, a 45-year-old agency in Central Ohio, was acquired March 1st by SeibertKeck, an Akron insurance agency. Best Hoovler McTeague sold a majority stake for an undisclosed sum but the subsidiary will maintain its name, said SeibertKeck CEO Craig Hassinger.

The deal expands the geographic reach of both agencies and allow Best Hoovler to take advantage of markets and services developed by SeibertKeck, the larger of the two firms, said Best Hoovler President Marc McTeague, whose grandfather founded the business.

"What it really allows us to do is combine the best of both agencies," he said.

It's not uncommon for insurance agencies to merge, because such arrangements can provide efficiencies, generate higher production and play an important role in keeping the agencies going when their principals are nearing retirement, said Scott Nein, chief executive of the Independent Insurance Agents of Ohio trade group.

"We've seen the number of agencies continue to dwindle. Mergers and acquisitions have been a way of life for quite a period of time," he said.

Indeed, business perpetuation played a role in the deal with SeibertKeck, said McTeague, who remains president and an owner of the firm.  

"What it allowed us to do was buy out a couple of partners that are near the end of their careers," he said.

McTeague, 39, refused to identify the selling partners.

The combined agency doesn't plan jobs cuts in Columbus, where it employs 11, McTeague said. Instead, the agency expects to add as many as three jobs to handle projected growth.

Best Hoovler was the 20th -largest independent insurance agency in Central Ohio, based on its $18 million of premiums written in 2005, according to Business First research. McTeague said premiums were flat last year.

For the most part, the Columbus agency will run independently, Hassinger said.

The merger should, however, give the agencies more opportunities for bringing in business, McTeague said. The firms write various types of policies, including property and casualty and personal liability coverage, and the merger will give SeibertKeck better access to the Central Ohio market.  Similarly, Best Hoovler can tap into products and services sold by insurers working with SeibertKeck, Hassinger said.

Another part of what made the deal enticing was the healthy Columbus economy, Hassinger said.

"All you have to do is drive down Interstate 71 and see all of the development going up," he said.

The deal likely won't be the last among insurance agencies in Central Ohio, McTeague said.

"The way of the world in our business is that the small, independent agency is going to die on the vine or get snapped up by the others," he said.