Seattle's Cummings & Associates Joins USI

Cummings & Associates, Inc., one of Washington's leading independent insurance agencies, has affiliated with USI Insurance Services Corp. Seattle-based Cummings & Associates is a full-service employee benefits firm.

Under the transaction, Cummings & Associates will maintain its individual identity, entrepreneurial spirit and management team led by Gary Cummings, chief executive officer, and Rick Stocks, president. The USI affiliation positions the firm to deliver a wider spectrum of insurance, risk management, benefits and financial services to its clients.

Cummings & Associates has specialized for 22 years in providing a wide array of benefits options to Pacific Northwest employers, including fully insured, and partially and fully self-funded plans. Services encompass medical, dental, disability, and life insurance, plus retirement, estate planning and other financial services.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Stocks says Cummings & Associates' partnership in the USI network will permit it to both expand the scope of its client services to include property and casualty insurance and broaden its market resources for more leverage on the clients' behalf.

Steve Palmer, president and chief executive officer of Hurley, Atkins and Stewart in Seattle, USI's Seattle-based property-casualty brokerage, says, "Because of our shared ambitions and a commitment to outstanding client service, together we will become the dominant force in the distribution of insurance and insurance related financial services to the middle market in the Pacific Northwest. We look forward to blending our mutual expertise to extend services throughout Washington and into new specialty arenas.''

"We seek our partners thoughtfully and evaluate them carefully for integrity, strong financial management, solid market presence, quality relationships with clients, carriers and employees, and a shared vision of the future," says Bernard H. Mizel, chairman and chief executive officer of USI in San Francisco. "Cummings & Associates is an outstanding addition to the USI family and an important component in delivering on our commitment to serve the Pacific Northwest."