Skip Navigation
  • Careers
  • Report a Claim
  • Clients
  • Contact Us
  • Employees
Risk Strategies Logo
  • Industries

    • Architects & Engineers
    • Aviation
    • Cannabis
    • Construction
    • Education
    • Entertainment
    • Financial Services
    • Fine Art
    • Healthcare
    • Law Firms
    • Marine & Yacht
    • Nonprofit & Human Services
    • Private Equity
    • Public Sector
    • Real Estate
    • Relocation
    • Transportation
    • Waste & Recycling
  • Solutions

      • Captives
      • Casualty
      • Cyber
      • Environmental
      • International Liability
      • Management Liability
      • Property
      • Surety
      • Employee Benefits Overview
      • Benefit Administration and Technology
      • Benefits Compliance Support
      • Data & Analytics
      • Human Capital Management
      • International Benefits
      • Absence Management & Ancillary Programs
      • Voluntary & Lifestyle Benefits
      • Financial & Wealth Overview
      • Life Insurance
      • Private Client Services Overview
      • Homeowners
      • Collections
      • Umbrella & Excess Liability
      • Auto
      • Boat & Yacht
      • Family Office
      • Specialty Coverages
    • Reinsurance
      • Risk Management Services Overview
      • Analytics
      • Claims Management & Advocacy
      • Loss Control
      • Safety Consulting Services
  • Consulting

    • Consulting Overview
    • Actuarial Services
    • Healthcare Claim Audit Services
    • Health and Welfare
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Pharmacy
    • Retirement Benefits
  • News and Insights

    • All Insights
    • Blog
    • Emergency Resource Centers
    • Employee Benefits Compliance Center
    • Events
    • Media Coverage
    • State of the Market Reports
    • Press Releases
  • Company

    • About Us
    • Careers
    • Culture and Values
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Environmental, Social, & Governance
    • General Terms of Business
    • Leaders
    • Local Expertise
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Recognition & Awards
    • Risk Strategies Charitable Foundation
    • Transparency and Disclosures
  • Join Us
    • Careers
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Industries
    • Architects & Engineers
    • Aviation
      • Aviation Business Insurance - Manned Risk
      • Non-Owned Aviation
      • Unmanned Aerial System and Drones
    • Cannabis
    • Construction
      • Alternative Solutions
      • Financing & Pre-Construction
      • Insurance Solutions
      • Risk Management
      • Surety
    • Education
      • Employee Benefits for Education
      • Property, Casualty & Liability for Education
      • Student Health & Wellness
    • Entertainment
      • Film & Television
      • Advertising Wrap-Ups
      • Event Cancellation & Non-Appearance
      • Music & Touring
      • Theatrical Production & Live Performance 
    • Financial Services
      • Asset Managers
      • Banks & Non-Bank Lending
      • Collections
      • Consumer Financial Services
      • Financial Tech
      • Insurance Companies
    • Fine Art
      • Artists
      • Artist Endowed Foundations
      • Auction Houses
      • Fine Art Packers / Shippers / Warehouses
      • Galleries
      • Museums
      • Private Art Dealers / Advisors
      • Private Collectors
    • Healthcare
      • Employee Benefits - Healthcare
      • Managed Care / Stop Loss
      • Medical Malpractice
      • Property & Casualty - Healthcare
      • Reinsurance
    • Law Firms
    • Marine & Yacht
      • Boat & Yacht For Individuals
      • Classic Yachts
      • Commercial & Recreational Marine Businesses
        • Marine Businesses
        • Sailing Organizations - Burgee Program
      • High Performance Boats
      • Jackline Program for Cruising Yachts
      • Mega Yachts
      • One-Design Insurance Program
      • Travel Medical & Trip Insurance
    • Nonprofit & Human Services
    • Private Equity
    • Public Sector
    • Real Estate
      • Commercial
      • Community Associations
      • Hospitality
      • Residential / Habitational
      • REITs
      • Retail
      • Specialty Programs
    • Relocation
      • Domestic Household Goods
      • Expat Renters & Living Insurance
      • Relocation Claims Service
      • International Household Goods
      • Supplemental Movers Coverage
      • Temporary Living Insurance
      • Vacant Home
    • Transportation
      • Business Auto Insurance
      • Last Mile Delivery
      • Forwarding & Brokering
      • Workers' Compensation
    • Waste & Recycling
  • Solutions
    • Business Insurance
      • Captives
      • Casualty
        • Analytics
        • Auto Liability & Physical Damage
        • Captives & Alternative Risk Financing
        • Claims Advocacy & Loss Control
        • Excess Liability
        • General Liability
        • Product Recall
        • Workers' Compensation
      • Cyber
        • Cyber Resolute
        • Cyber Risk Assessment and Analytics
        • Cyber Risk Response & Claims Advocacy
      • Environmental
        • Contractors Pollution Liability
        • Environmental Excess
        • Environmental Liability Transfer
        • Environmental Liability - Healthcare
        • Environmental Liability - Higher Education
        • Pollution Legal Liability
        • Environmental Liability - Private Equity
        • Professional Environmental Liability Insurance
        • Real Estate Development
        • Remediation Cost Cap
        • Secured Creditor Protection for Lenders
        • Underground Storage Tanks
      • International Liability
      • Management Liability
        • Management Liability - Entertainment
        • Management Liability - Financial Institutions
        • Management Liability - Healthcare
        • Management Liability - Real Estate
      • Property
        • Builder's Risk
        • Property Claims Services
        • Inland Transit and Ocean Cargo
        • Natural Hazard Catastrophe Modeling
        • Political Violence and Terrorism
        • Property Damage & Business Interruptions Valuations
        • Property Loss Prevention and Control
      • Surety
    • Employee Benefits
      • Employee Benefits Overview
      • Benefit Administration and Technology
      • Benefits Compliance Support
      • Data & Analytics
      • Human Capital Management
      • International Benefits
      • Absence Management & Ancillary Programs
      • Voluntary & Lifestyle Benefits
    • Financial & Wealth
      • Financial & Wealth Overview
      • Life Insurance
    • Private Client Services
      • Private Client Services Overview
      • Homeowners
      • Collections
      • Umbrella & Excess Liability
      • Auto
      • Boat & Yacht
      • Family Office
      • Specialty Coverages
    • Reinsurance
    • Risk Management Services
      • Risk Management Services Overview
      • Analytics
      • Claims Management & Advocacy
      • Loss Control
      • Safety Consulting Services
  • Consulting
    • Consulting Overview
    • Actuarial Services
    • Healthcare Claim Audit Services
    • Health and Welfare
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Pharmacy
    • Retirement Benefits
  • News and Insights
    • All Insights
    • Blog
    • Emergency Resource Centers
      • Cybersecurity
      • Earthquake
      • Hurricane
      • Pandemic
      • Riot & Civil Unrest
      • Severe Storms
      • Violence & Active Shooter
      • Wildfire
      • Winter Weather
    • Employee Benefits Compliance Center
    • Events
    • Media Coverage
    • State of the Market Reports
    • Press Releases
  • Company
    • About Us
    • Careers
    • Culture and Values
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
      • BeHEARD Series
      • DE&I Structure
      • Employee Resource Groups
    • Environmental, Social, & Governance
    • General Terms of Business
    • Leaders
    • Local Expertise
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Recognition & Awards
    • Risk Strategies Charitable Foundation
    • Transparency and Disclosures
      • General Terms of Business
      • Conflict of Interest Policy
      • Compensation Disclosure
      • Enterprise Risk Management
  • Join Us
    • Careers
      • Benefits & Wellness
      • Investing in Growth & Leadership
      • Life at Risk Strategies
      • Next Steps
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Partnership Benefits
      • Why Join Us?
      • Onboarding & Integration
  • Careers
  • Report a Claim
  • Clients
  • Contact Us
  • Employees

You are about to leave Risk Strategies website and view the content of an external website.

You are leaving risk-strategies.com

By accessing this link, you will be leaving Risk Strategies website and entering a website hosted by another party. Please be advised that you will no longer be subject to, or under the protection of, the privacy and security policies of Risk Strategies website. We encourage you to read and evaluate the privacy and security policies of the site you are entering, which may be different than those of Risk Strategies.

OK
  • News & Insights
  • Mergers & Acquisitions | Testimonials
May 11, 2021

A Succession Path Sharpens A Competitive Edge

Architects & Engineers
3 min read
John Krantz
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
A Succession Path Sharpens A Competitive Edge | Risk Strategies

Founded in 1989, McLaughlin-Brunson was a successful specialty broker focused on the architecture and engineering space. In 2004 the founders were eyeing retirement. I and two others who became partners at around that time teamed up to buy ownership of the firm.

Since its founding, the firm had built its success on a consultative approach. We were more like business partners than salespeople; even helping with things somewhat peripheral to insurance, from contract issues to acquisition conversations. We had over 60 percent share of architecture and engineering firms in North Texas, but over time we were noticing market changes.

Clients wanted more than consultation. They had business needs – different levels of legal services, platforms to streamline benefits management - that we couldn’t meet. Some bigger shops we competed with lacked our specialty focus but had these tools and resources and were essentially giving them away as loss leaders to win business.

Our core competency distinguished us in the market, but its competitive edge was being dulled. Keeping pace with market change, providing new services and capabilities, represented a significant capital investment.

At about the same time, my partners and I, being of similar ages, began to realize that we were not well positioned for an internal succession. Having gone through it ourselves, we knew we needed the right people with good access to capital to make the exit, and maintain ongoing business success. There were just too many elements in play and not enough time. We needed a buyout partner.

Initially worried about attracting a buyer, we quickly found that there was strong interest from a number of major brokerages. Which was great because we didn’t just want an exit, we wanted a real succession for the business and our people. The level of interest we garnered gave us real leverage to be sure we were making the right choice. Risk Strategies turned out to be that choice for a couple key reasons.

First, Risk Strategies was clearly going to be a great place for our people to work and grow. Some firms we spoke with were only focused on the partners. They seemed to treat everyone else as commodities or afterthoughts. That was a non-starter for us. Risk Strategies was interested in the whole business, starting with the people.

Also, having run our business very successfully for a number of years, we didn’t want to get lost and marginalized in some byzantine reporting structure. In Risk Strategies we found a real appreciation for entrepreneurial attitude and culture. They draw partners and people into the mix, seize on good ideas and build on them. They ensure firms they bring in are a good fit, which has helped preserve this culture and approach.

Finally, Risk Strategies’ specialty-at-scale approach gave us the range of resources we needed to be more than competitive. When we came aboard with Risk Strategies, we gained more “stuff” than I ever had to sell against - from actuarial scientists and analytic services to HR technology, captives, Cyber, and more. And the people behind those resources were deeply experienced and easily accessible. We were also thrilled to find this resourcing was a two-way street. Other offices would tap us for our expertise, helping our people find wider opportunities, and a higher profile within the organization.

At the end of our process, there were companies that offered us more money, and some that offered substantially less, but going with Risk Strategies got us a great deal all around - the succession path we needed and the means for our people to succeed in our specialty.

The contents of this article are for general informational purposes only and Risk Strategies Company makes no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy or completeness of any information contained herein. Any recommendations contained herein are intended to provide insight based on currently available information for consideration and should be vetted against applicable legal and business needs before application to a specific client. 

Related Posts

See all posts

Architects & Engineers 3 min read Collaboration Expands Horizons February 05, 2021
Property & Casualty 4 min read Finding A Third Act at Risk Strateg... August 05, 2022

Subscribe via Email

Risk Strategies Logo
  • Report a Claim
  • Clients
  • Contact
  • Employees
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility
  • Health Plan Transparency Compliance
©2023 Risk Strategies. All rights reserved.

Connect with Us

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Facebook