Atlanta's Couch & Associates Joins USI Insurance Services Corp.

Couch & Associates, Inc., Tucker, GA, has affiliated with USI Insurance Services Corp., a diversified insurance and financial services network. Couch will be affiliated with USI's Norfolk, VA-based southeast regional partner, Henderson & Phillips/USI. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

According to Roger Couch, president and chief executive officer of Couch & Associates, Inc., partnership in the USI network permits his firm to expand the scope of its services to clients regionally, nationally and internationally. "Joining the USI family of companies allows us to maintain a position as a local, independent agency and at the same time gain the status of being connected with a national broker with a multi-state presence," Couch said.

Couch & Associates focuses on transportation, specializing in automobile haulers operating worldwide. The firm will retain its office in the Atlanta area as well as its identity and staff.

"We look forward to blending our mutual expertise to extend services throughout the Southeast," said F. Dudley Fulton, president and chief executive officer of Henderson & Phillips and head of USI's Southeast region. "We share similar ambitions and a commitment to outstanding client service. Following our partnership, we anticipate being an even more dominant force in the marketplace."

"This new partnership gives USI a strong retail presence in Atlanta from which to grow in the southeast, particularly in Georgia, South Carolina and northern Florida," added Mr. Fulton. "Couch & Associates will strengthen USI's well-established transportation Center of Excellence, providing more depth and products for this specialized business niche. We are also particularly pleased to bring Couch & Associates into the USI family because they have already honed the cross selling formula that is an essential element of the USI client focus."

"We are delighted to bring Couch & Associates into the USI family as we further extend our commitment to serve the southeast and the transportation industry," said Bernard H. Mizel, chairman and chief executive officer of USI. "This firm offers an outstanding complement to the capabilities of USI and they will be an exceptional force in the southeast."