DiMartino Associates has successfully provided employee benefits to niche markets in Washington State for over three decades. Founded by Greg DiMartino in 1990 and later acquired by Brown & Brown Insurance in 2010, DiMartino Associates specializes in creating and managing Association Health Plans and other groups such as Fire Fighters and Union sponsored trusts.
In the years since the merger, this 25-person firm has retained its autonomy while also benefitting from being part of our team at Brown & Brown. In a recent interview with our team, Greg DiMartino reflects on his decision to sell and the impact joining Brown & Brown has had on him and his business.
Q: What were your primary objectives to sell?
A: I wanted to sell while I was still young enough to add value after the merger. My business also held much of my net worth, and I had all my eggs in its basket. I knew it was time for me to capitalize my investment and diversify the proceeds.
Q: How did you choose Brown & Brown Insurance?
A: I knew Brown & Brown would be the best home for my company when your team assured me that we’d have the freedom to continue being “us.” Other companies were determined to change our operations to their way of doing business and expected us to fully change our culture to match their culture, but that wasn’t what I was looking for.
I didn’t want to lose all sense of flexibility and independence in the acquisition, and you all took a personal, open-minded approach that embraced our strengths. Because of the uniqueness of our business, Brown & Brown made a commitment to not change things just for the sake of changing things, and you’ve kept that promise.
Q: What made your organization attractive to Brown & Brown?
A: Corporate customers comprise less than 10% of our business. Our specialty is niche markets, and we are knowledgeable in these areas, with little competition. Many of our plans such as Association Health Plans and Fire Fighters are very scalable and enable expansion without needing to add more teammates to support the growing business. Brown & Brown recognized our foothold and growth potential in these unique markets and understood the value of our position.
Q: How has your organization grown since the acquisition, and what types of successes have you achieved?
A: The company’s revenue has tripled since the sale in 2010. We have just over 100 customers, and our 25-person team handles over $500 million of premium annually.
Our national Fire Fighter program stands out as a big accomplishment. We started the program from scratch in 2013, three years after the acquisition. We are proud of what we have been able to accomplish on behalf of our customers like the Fire Fighter program.
Q: How do you celebrate these milestones?
A: Even though we’re under the Brown & Brown umbrella, we are still able to continue celebrating the way we love to. For our team, that’s usually with an all-teammate celebration trip to acknowledge our accomplishments.
We won Brown & Brown’s 2012 Employee Benefits Office of the Year Award and the 2012 President’s Award for Overall Office of the Year.
Q: How has your role changed since selling your business?
A: We’ve grown our leadership and strengthened our team since the merger, which has allowed me to dedicate more time to the aspects I enjoy, like mentoring teammates and relationship-building with clients and trustees. It’s very important to me that I continue to add value to the business while also supporting and bolstering the growth and success of my team. Being a part of Brown & Brown has helped me achieve these goals over the past 14 years.
Q: How has Brown & Brown helped perpetuate your legacy and the legacy of your business?
I’ve built my legacy on creating accounts from scratch and mentoring my team to reach their full potential. I believe in doing business in the right, honest, respectful way and in prioritizing the needs of the client above all else.
Our business, like Brown & Brown, is a family business that has given some of our family members a place to serve our clients. Being a part of Brown & Brown means that our team will continue serving communities far into the future, even when I’m no longer involved.
Q: What advice do you have for anyone looking to sell their brokerage?
A: I encourage you to do your due diligence and explore all your options. That said, I don’t think there are any other organizations out there that provide the overall strength and support of Brown & Brown without forcing absolute conformity. Our merger with Brown & Brown has met all my goals. I love the team, and I would do it again. I have no regrets.
Brown & Brown Insurance Acquisitions
We are fortunate to work with Greg DiMartino and the DiMartino Associates team and have enjoyed being a part of their successful journey since the acquisition.
The insurance sector saw a 21% decrease in acquisitions from 2022 to 2023, but experts anticipate acquisitions will ramp up again in 2024.[1] Reach out to our team for insights on the key trends impacting insurance acquisitions or for more information on our acquisition process.
Interested in speaking with our Acquisitions team?
Email [email protected] or contact us directly below.
| Vaughn Stoll Senior Vice President & Director of Acquisitions [email protected] | (386) 239-8899 |
Mark Prampero Regional Director of Acquisitions [email protected] | (386) 239-7292 |
Acquisitions for Agency Owners
by Vaughn Stoll, SVP & Director of Acquisitions
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[1] Deloitte “2024 insurance M&A outlook: Climbing the leaderboard,” Accessed March 22, 2024.