More than 420 GAB Robins
employees, including Michael Repoli, chief executive officer of GAB
Robins' TPA division, will join Gallagher Bassett.
"This sale of
the TPA business allows GAB to focus on its core strength and core
business" of loss-adjusting services, said GAB Robins spokesman Harry
Baumgartner. He said GAB Robins interviewed several acquisition suitors
and called Gallagher Bassett "a perfect fit."
"They're a very top-notch organization, highly rated by customers," Baumgartner said.
Gallagher
Bassett President Scott R. Hudson said the acquisition allows Gallagher
to expand its customer base and add staff. "Our motivation in making
this acquisition was not to reduce adjuster headcount or increase
workloads, but to add GAB and MedInsights' clients and professionals to
our own, to grow our franchise and secure our leadership position in the
industry," Hudson said in an e-mail.
In August, Arthur J.
Gallagher acquired Benefits Unlimited Inc. of Houston, which offers
employee benefits consulting and brokerage services, the latest in a
string of acquisitions for Gallagher this year.
GAB
Robins, based in Parsippany, N.J., will continue to operate its North
American loss-adjusting services business, which focuses on
property/casualty loss-adjusting services. Gallagher Bassett offers
risk-management services, including claims management, information
management, and medical-cost containment. Arthur J. Gallagher, with its
headquarters in Itasca, Ill., is the fifth-largest broker in the world
based on revenue of $1.7 billion, according to the Best's Review 2009
ranking of global brokers.