Westland acquires brokerages in two provinces

Westland Insurance continues its expansion across Canada with acquisition of Quebec-based Niche Assurance Inc. and Saskatchewan-based Heritage Insurance, effective Feb. 1.

The latest acquisitions come a month after industry veteran Doug Morrow joined Westland as its new vice president of commercial insurance for Alberta. Morrow joined Westland following its acquisition of Edmonton-based RiskTech Insurance Services.

Niche Assurance is Westland’s second acquisition in Quebec this year and will become part of Westland’s group business portfolio, Westland MyGroup, Westland said in a Feb. 7 press release.

With three locations in Quebec (Mont-Tremblant, Saint-Sauveur and Montcalm), Niche Assurance is a specialist brokerage that focuses on serving the more complex needs of the non-standard condo, residential and commercial market – including seasonal and unique residential properties. It also serves the construction, hospitality and food-service sectors.

“They specialize in less conventional risk, an area Westland continues to expand its capabilities in,” the larger brokerage said in the release.

For its part, Moose Jaw, Sask.-based Heritage Insurance has been providing personal, auto, commercial and farm insurance since 1982. “They share Westland’s passion for customer-oriented, personalized service and have deep ties to their local community,” the release said.

In addition to the Jan. 1 acquisition of RiskTech (which delivers specialized capabilities and technical expertise with a focus on large and mid-market commercial clients), Westland’s first Quebec acquisition this year was that of Assurances R. Legault Inc.

Based in Montreal, Assurances R. Legault is a family owned, second-generation brokerage that has been offering services to personal and business clients (including home, auto and business) in both French and English since 1980.

As one of Canada’s largest independent insurance brokerages, Surrey, B.C.-headquartered Westland offers personal, commercial, employee benefits, farm, and specialty insurance segments and trades over $2.5 billion in premium.

So far this year, Westland has closed four acquisitions. In 2022, it closed 28 deals.

Feature image by iStock.com/Maxiphoto