Harvest Insurance sold

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This article was published 31/01/2022 (1184 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A homegrown insurance agency in downtown Steinbach has been acquired by Canada’s largest independent Canadian-owned brokerage.

Harvest Insurance Agency was sold to Westland Insurance Group in a deal that took effect Nov. 1, 2021.

“Joining Westland Insurance will allow us to maintain and expand services and products in these changing times,” Harvest said in letters mailed to clients last week.

Gerry Banman and Orville Giesbrecht owned an operated Harvest Insurance together since 1996. Together, they grew the business from five to 25 employees offering services in four languages. Banman had worked there since 1982, a year after the Banman family purchased the business.

Banman and Giesbrecht remained at Harvest until Dec. 1. Bonnie Neufeld, a 15-year Harvest employee, now manages the branch.

In a phone interview, Banman said amalgamation is “a fact of life” in today’s insurance business.

“There were a number of companies that had approached us over the years, and (Westland) approached us and their culture in their company and our culture, we felt, aligned very well,” he said.

“Gerry and Orville had created a wonderful business there that had significant longevity in the community. That was attractive to us,” Tim Mackie, Westland’s executive vice-president of operations, said in a phone interview.

Mackie said all Harvest staff will be retained and the business will be rebranded in the coming months.

Banman said Westland offers “economies of scale” that will benefit clients after a hard couple of years in the insurance market. Mackie said Westland can offer customers access to more insurance providers.

The deal is also expected to bring “expanded capacity with increased underwriting capabilities,” Harvest said in its letters to clients.

Established in 1980, Westland is headquartered in Surrey, B.C. It has more than 2,000 employees across more than 180 brokerages in seven provinces.