Apollo Insurance Will Join Pair of Minnesota Companies

Move creates 1 of the largest private insurance brokerages in the state

Apollo Insurance Agency of St. Cloud has merged with companies in St. Paul and Rochester to become one of the largest private insurance brokerages in Minnesota.

Apollo Insurance joins Johnson McCann of St. Paul and C.O. Brown of Rochester, according to an announcement Tuesday. Terms were not released.

After the merger, they will have a dozen offices. All will offer commercial property and casualty, homeowners and auto insurance, group employee benefits and individual life and health insurance. Along with the growth, Apollo Insurance on March 1 will move from its downtown office to 622 Roosevelt Road, Suite 240.

“We’ll be keeping our name and eventually co-branding with the others, but we haven’t decided on just how that will go yet,” said DeEtte Wurm, one of four partners who will retain their stake in Apollo Insurance.

“We’re moving into offices that will have about 9,000 square feet — up from 7,000 feet where we’ve been at downtown. And the hope is that we’ll expand and enhance our offerings.”

Wurm said Johnson McCann offers access to benefits advisors and consultants otherwise unavailable. In turn, Apollo Insurance and C.O. Brown bring property and casualty insurance to the partnership as well as a large geographic customer base.

Pat McCann will be president of the combined group, which totals about 150 employees.

“The merger allows us to combine resources, offer more services and provide a broader base of experience and expertise to all of the agencies’ clients,” McCann said in a statement.

The organization will add a health and wellness division and a safety consultant in the wake of the merger.

“Knowing the care that all three agencies have taken to attract, recruit, develop and retain the best and most committed professionals in our industry, we are excited to now become one team for the benefit of our clients and our collective service team,” Apollo Insurance President John Delinsky said in a statement.

Apollo Insurance has offices in St. Cloud, Albany, Alexandria, Melrose and Monticello. It is led by Delinsky, Wurm, Barry Quernemoen and Steve Thelen. Apollo agencies, which have more than 40 employees, serve more than 5,000 businesses and individuals in Minnesota and the surrounding states.

Johnson McCann employs 22 people. C.O. Brown, led by President Mark Hayford, has 85 employees.

Original article from The SC Times in St. Cloud

Original article can be found at http://www.sctimes.com/article/20130212/BUSINESS/302120040/Apollo-Insurance-merger-results-state-s-second-largest-brokerage?nclick_check=1

Written by Kevin Allenspach