Risk Strategies bolsters expertise with North Bay acquisition

Risk Strategies has acquired North Bay, a business unit from InterWest Insurance Services, LLC, adding, among other capabilities, specialty expertise to its Wineries Practice.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Along with offices in Petaluma, CA and Santa Rosa, CA, the North Bay business unit purchase from InterWest includes its Wine Industry Focus Group led by wine and insurance industry veterans Mike Ryan and Sama Hershey Davis.

According to Risk Strategies the group’s capabilities bring extensive experience to existing Risk Strategies wine specialty capabilities, from deep knowledge of unique coverage issues to industry specific training and support of best practices for wine industry client support services and resources.

“We’re excited by this opportunity to add significant expertise to our existing specialty capabilities in the wine industry,” said Patrick Roth, west region leader, Risk Strategies. “This team is well known in this specialty and our combined strength positions us to be the go-to broker for wineries and vintners throughout the region.”

Along with the wine industry specialization, the transaction brings with it several other lines of business and industry specializations including property and development, contracting, recreation and clubs and engineering. These specializations are supported across coverage lines including property & casualty, employee benefits, risk control and claims management.

“Our focus and overall business has been successful by delivering specialty expertise that helps clients solve their unique, constantly evolving business challenges,” said Mike Ryan, North Bay practice leader. “It’s exciting to join forces with a firm that brings real scale to that same approach.”

This acquisition marks the latest expansion of specialty capabilities for Risk Strategies in the western region, stretching back to its 2010 acquisition of Cohn-Reid-O’Neill Insurance Services. More recently, Risk Strategies acquired Burlingame, California-based MacCorkle Insurance Services in 2015; Portland, Oregon-based Fournier Group in 2021; and West Linn, Oregon-based Bisnett Insurance in August of this year.