BB&T Insurance Services To Buy Metro-Atlanta Agency

BB&T Insurance Services Inc. says it will buy Huffines-Russell Insurance Agency of Alpharetta, GA. The acquisition moves BB&T Insurance Services, a subsidiary of BB&T Corporation, into the metropolitan Atlanta area, a rapidly growing region with 3.14 million people. Huffines-Russell is one of the largest independent agencies in the metro area.

The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter. Terms were not disclosed.

The acquisition comes three weeks after BB&T Corporation said it would acquire First Citizens Corporation of Newnan, Ga., BB&T's first merger with a Georgia-based bank holding company.

Huffines-Russell, which opened in 1982, will keep its name and continue providing customer service through existing staff. The acquisition of Huffines-Russell will bring to 34 the number of insurance offices operated by BB&T in Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia.

"BB&T Insurance Services wants to be the best at providing quality customer service and Huffines-Russell knows how to do that," said Wade Reece, president of BB&T Insurance Services. "Huffines-Russell has an established record of excellence in the industry and gives BB&T a solid foundation of experienced insurance professionals in metro Atlanta."

Travis Huffines, president of Huffines-Russell, will become regional agency manager for BB&T Insurance Services-Georgia. Huffines-Russell agency owners Scott Russell, Reg Davis, Tim Barnhardt and Tommy Beman will continue to provide property, casualty and surety services to their customers.

"This combination will mean that our customers will have access to a wider range of products at competitive prices, while retaining the personal relationships they've developed with their agents," Huffines said.

BB&T Insurance Services will set up its Georgia headquarters in the town of Chatsworth. All corporate licensing and administrative functions will be handled there.

Raleigh-based BB&T Insurance Services, the largest independent agency in the Carolinas and the 16th largest in the country, operates 25 offices in North Carolina, three in South Carolina and five in Virginia. Winston-Salem-based BB&T Corporation, a multi-bank holding company with $35 billion in assets, operates 534 banking offices in the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.