BB&T to Purchase UnionBanc Insurance Services

Raleigh, N.C.-based BB&T Insurance Services has reached an agreement with Union Bank of California, N.A., to purchase its San Diego-based insurance subsidiary, UnionBanc Insurance Services Inc.

The acquisition would expand BB&T Corporation's insurance operation in California, where wholesale insurance subsidiary CRC Insurance Services and large account commercial insurer McGriff, Seibels & Williams already operate.

The deal has been approved by the directors of BB&T Corporation and Union Bank holding company UnionBanCal Corporation. It is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter pending regulatory approval. Terms were not disclosed.

"We're excited about expanding in California, the No. 1 state for insurance values in the country," said BB&T Insurance Services Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Wade Reece. "This partnership will only strengthen our overall investment on the West Coast."

Founded in 1922, BB&T Insurance Services is the nation's seventh largest insurance broker. BB&T's combined insurance operation includes 134 agencies across the country.

With 369 employees, UnionBanc Insurance Services operates offices in Pleasanton, San Rafael, Stockton and Roseville in Northern California; San Diego, Irvine, Fullerton and Glendale in Southern California; and Portland, Ore. It is the 31st largest insurance broker in the nation.

Union Bank entered the insurance brokerage business in 2001 with the acquisition of Fullerton-based Armstrong/Robitaille Business and Insurance Services. The additions of 115-year-old John Burnham and Company in 2002 and Pleasanton-based Tanner Insurance Brokers in 2003 expanded the company's footprint into San Diego and Northern California. In late 2003, Glendale-based Knight Insurance Agency joined the company.

UnionBanc Insurance Services is expected to operate as a wholly owned BB&T insurance subsidiary after the acquisition is completed. Martin Loth, who currently manages the McGriff, Seibels & Williams office in Irvine, would oversee the new West Coast subsidiary of BB&T Insurance Services.

When the acquisition is completed, BB&T plans to consolidate the UnionBanc Insurance Services offices in San Rafael and Roseville into "BB&T-Tanner Insurance" in Pleasanton and Stockton. It also plans to operate "BB&T Insurance Services of Orange County" in Fullerton and Irvine, "BB&T-John Burnham Insurance" in San Diego, and "BB&T-Knight Insurance" in Glendale. It plans to combine the Portland office of UnionBanc Insurance Services with BB&T's existing McGriff office there.