Bridge Specialty Group acquires the assets of Shoemaker & Besser Associates, Inc.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Jan. 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — J. Scott Penny, chief acquisitions officer of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO), and Jack Brubaker and L. Allan Boyd, owners of Shoemaker & Besser Associates, Inc. (“Shoemaker & Besser”), today announced that a Bridge Specialty Group company and subsidiary of Brown & Brown, Inc. has acquired the assets of Shoemaker & Besser.
Established in 1959, Shoemaker & Besser is a full-service managing general agent and wholesale insurance brokerage located in York, Pennsylvania. Shoemaker & Besser provides independent insurance agents with automation and access to variety of specialty personal insurance and niche business owner’s policy products. The Shoemaker & Besser team will continue to operate from York, Pennsylvania, reporting to Jason Haupt, regional president of Bridge Specialty Group’s Mid-Atlantic and Delta region.
Anurag Batta, president of Bridge Specialty Group, stated, “We are delighted to welcome the Shoemaker & Besser team. Their specialized offerings will provide added value to our retail brokers and enhance the suite of solutions within our Contract Binding and Light Brokerage business.”
Jack Brubaker and Allan Boyd said, “We chose to combine with Bridge Specialty Group because it will allow us to provide significantly enhanced market access to our customers, while maintaining the personalized service Shoemaker & Besser has been known for. With this transaction, our agents will enjoy a very broad market reach both in personal and commercial lines to help them address their customers’ needs.”
About Bridge Specialty Group
Bridge Specialty Group, a division of Arrowhead Intermediaries, is a leading global insurance wholesaler with the scale and specialization needed to meet today’s complex risk challenges head-on. Our teams provide deep industry knowledge, placement precision across lines, and access to admitted, excess and surplus lines carriers, and Lloyd’s markets.
About Brown & Brown, Inc.
Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE: BRO) is a leading insurance brokerage firm delivering comprehensive and customized insurance solutions and specialization since 1939. With a global presence spanning 700+ locations and a team of more than 23,000 professionals, we are dedicated to delivering scalable, innovative strategies for our customers at every step of their growth journey. Learn more at BBrown.com.
This press release may contain certain statements relating to future results, which are forward-looking statements, including those associated with this acquisition. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent only Brown & Brown’s current belief regarding future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of Brown & Brown’s control. It is possible that Brown & Brown’s actual results and financial condition may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results and financial condition indicated in these forward-looking statements. Further information concerning Brown & Brown and its business, including factors that potentially could materially affect Brown & Brown’s financial results and condition, as well as its other achievements, is contained in Brown & Brown’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such factors include those factors relevant to Brown & Brown’s consummation and integration of the announced acquisition, including any matters analyzed in the due diligence process and material adverse changes in the business and financial condition of the seller, the buyer, or both, and their respective customers. All forward-looking statements made herein are made only as of the date of this release, and Brown & Brown does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or correct any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that subsequently occur or of which Brown & Brown hereafter becomes aware.
For more information:
R. Andrew Watts
Chief financial officer
(386) 239-5770
