Cross Insurance, a subsidiary of Cross Financial Corp., and one of the largest independent insurance providers in New England, has acquired the Holden Agency and its benefits division, Employee Benefits Solutions, Inc., both based in Portland, Maine.
Under terms of the October 3rd acquisition, Eric Jermyn, President of Cross Employee Benefits, and Dave Messersmith, President of Cross Insurance/Portland, Maine, will assume branch management responsibilities. Holden Agency executives Thomas Holden and John Benoit will remain on staff and assist with management of the office. Financial terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed.
Richard Holden, Jr. founded the Holden Agency in 1955, shortly after beginning his career as a life insurance agent. Officially incorporated and named the Holden Agency in 1968, the Agency added both business and personal lines of insurance to their product offerings.
Thomas W. Holden, the Agency’s former President, began working at the agency in 1975. Within a year, the office was expanded, and the agency has continued to grow. In 1990, Thomas W. Holden and John R. Benoit purchased the Holden Agency from Thomas Holden’s father – Richard B. Holden, Jr.
Over the ensuing years, the Holden Agency expanded the Employee Benefits segment of the business and created a new division —Employee Benefits Solutions, Inc. — to reflect the Agency’s strong commitment to providing employee benefits to businesses.
“This acquisition represented a tremendous opportunity to expand our operations in Maine.” said Jonathan Cross, Chief Operating Officer of Cross Insurance. “We are excited to have this group of professionals on our team.”
“We are thrilled to join the Cross Insurance family of agencies. We are a long-time family-owned business, and that’s exactly what attracted us to Cross,” said former Holden President Thomas Holden. “Cross has a long tradition as a family-owned business with the traditional values and strong emphasis on customer service that we know our customers will appreciate.”
“Given the complexity of issues and the escalation of healthcare costs facing our clients, it is clear the resulting organization will enhance efficiencies and improve available resources and expertise to our clients,” added John Benoit, former President of Employee Benefits Solutions. “We are very excited to work with the Cross organization to refine our value proposition and expand our outreach. Our organizations have combined to perpetuate a family-focused culture and an excellent reputation in the market.”