Insurance: Commerce Buying Insurance Brokerage

Commerce Bancorp, Cherry Hill, N.J., said it will buy the largest insurance brokerage in Delaware by the end of this quarter.

The acquisition of J.A. Montgomery Inc., Wilmington, would add $70 million in annual insurance premiums to the bank's growing insurance arm, Commerce National Insurance Services. That would bring the bank's total premium volume to $350 million annually, said David Flaherty, a bank spokesman.

Montgomery, which was established in the mid-1800s, provides commercial, personal, and employee benefit insurance brokerage services for 16,000 clients throughout Delaware. Commerce will keep the insurance brokerage's employees.

Commerce collected $250 million in premiums last year. And an aggressive acquisition policy-four agencies in two years-has built Commerce's insurance presence to 40,000 clients.

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