UK-based insurance and risk management firm Seventeen Group has acquired Everard Insurance Brokers (Everards), a specialist marine and marine trades broker, for an undisclosed sum.
Everards, which is headquartered in West Malling, Kent, controls gross written premium of £10m. The insurance broking company, which also handles general clients, has been in business since 1969.
Everards provides a variety of covers such as marine traders combined, combined liabilities, marine installations, builders risks, professional indemnity, contractors all risks and related insurances like motor fleet and property.
Seventeen Group CEO Paul Anscombe said: “The acquisition of Everards is consistent with our strategy of growing and creating specialist lines of business.
“The team in West Malling are hugely knowledgeable in their field and are ambitious to grow the business. Everards have excellent relationships with their key insurers which we are keen to maintain and to expand the product range”.
Seventeen Group said that Everards’ vendors Stephen Roper and Tim Gilbert along with all the company’s staff will be retained.
The marine insurance broker, which will also continue to be based in its existing West Malling premises, will operate as a specialist division under James Hallam, the broking subsidiary of Seventeen Group.
Everards MD Stephen Roper said: “We thought long and hard about the type of broker we would want our staff and clients to join and James Hallam within Seventeen Group felt like the right choice from the outset”.
Everards director Tim Gilbert said: “Having developed the business and its reputation over many years we are keen to see these foundations built upon. We can add enormously to James Hallam in terms of our specialist knowledge and will likewise gain from being part of a specialist dynamic Group”.
Apart from James Hallam insurance brokers, Seventeen Group also owns Touchstone Underwriting and 4Sight Risk Management.
Earlier this year, Seventeen Group acquired Complete Insurance Solutions and Total Insurance Services, which were both integrated into James Hallam.