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Acordia has come a long way in Northern California in the past five years. Now, because of a planned acquisition by Wells Fargo & Co., the insurance brokerage expects it's just the beginning.
Five years ago, Acordia, then part of a publicly traded company, had almost no insurance brokerage business in Northern California. Its Sacramento presence was minimal, and only as a third-party insurance claims administrator. Acordia really became Acordia when it was taken private in 1997.
Today, Acordia Inc.'s Northern California operations have 130 workers, including about 70 in Rancho Cordova. The local office houses Acordia of California Insurance Services Inc.'s chief and the head of its Northern California operations. The Northern California business, served by offices in Rancho Cordova, Lodi, Grass Valley and Chico, handles combined premium volume of about $160 million. Acordia was the area's third-largest insurance brokerage last year.
Last month Wells Fargo agreed to purchase ACO Brokerage Holdings Corp., the parent of Acordia, for an undisclosed amount. Regulators must still give their approval. A decision is expected the first week of May.
If approved, it would be the largest North American deal in which a bank and brokerage merge, said Mark Freeman, head of Acordia's California operations.
San Francisco-based Wells Fargo is the nation's...