ALIGNED Insurance acquires shares of Precept Insurance & Risk Management Inc.

Toronto-based commercial insurance brokerage ALIGNED Insurance Inc. announced Friday it is continuing to grow with the acquisition of the shares of Precept Insurance & Risk Management Inc. for an undisclosed amount.

ALIGNED is “thrilled to add the entire Precept Insurance & Risk Management team and nearly 800 clients as we continue to deliver industry-leading insurance and risk management solutions to our great and growing group of clients across Canada,” president and CEO Andrew Clark says of the transaction, which was completed June 1, 2015.

ALIGNED currently has offices in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto, as well as its National Operations Centre in Waterloo, Ontario, where Precept Insurance & Risk Management, one of the leading insurance brokerages in the Tri-Cities and greater southwestern Ontario area, is based.

Bloomberg reports that The Precept Group Inc. offers, among other things, personal insurance, property insurance, auto insurance, commercial insurance, business vehicle/fleets insurance, construction insurance, farm and agribusiness insurance and hospitality insurance.

The company’s CEO is Jim McGregor, who is also president of Precept Insurance and Risk Management and chairman of ABEX Affiliated Brokers Exchange Inc., a member company of The Precept Group Inc. Also located in Waterloo, Ontario, ABEX is an insurance wholesaler (MGA) providing niche products and insurance solutions to brokers across Canada.

ALIGNED reports that the focus of Precept Insurance & Risk Management is providing clients with tailor-made solutions that bring together risk management, personal attention and world-class protection insurance products.

The approach is a good fit with ALIGNED, which the company reports, “was exclusively and uniquely built to create, negotiate and deliver the best insurance and risk management strategies/solutions to small, medium and large organizations across all industries.”

In an interview last fall, Clark said ALIGNED seeks to exclusively serve the insurance and risk management needs of Canadian companies through its 18 points of differentiation and expertise. It works on a zero commission/fee for service model, allowing clients to choose bronze, silver or gold service packages.

Asked at the time about the company’s objectives, he responded the ultimate goal is to be the largest independently owned insurance brokerage in North America. “We hope to have a national footprint in five years,” he said, and over the next five to seven years, “enter the U.S. market as well and keep going.”