USI to Acquire Bank-Owned Insurance Services in Upstate New York

KeyBank Enters Into Agreement to Sell Key Insurance & Benefits Services, Inc. to USI Insurance Services

CLEVELAND and VALHALLA, NY — KeyBank (“KEY”) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Key Insurance & Benefits Services, Inc. to USI Insurance Services (“USI”).  KeyBank acquired Key Insurance & Benefits Services, Inc. as part of the 2016 merger with First Niagara Financial Group.

Key Insurance & Benefits Services, Inc., with a division headquarters in Buffalo, N.Y., has 350 teammates working in eight offices in upstate New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. USI is headquartered in Valhalla, NY and is one of the largest privately held insurance brokerage firms in the United States, with more than 6,000 associates in over 150 offices.

“We are proud to welcome Kirk Jensen, president of Key Insurance & Benefits Services, Inc., and his dedicated team of insurance professionals to USI. Together, USI and Key Insurance and Benefit Services, Inc. bring tremendous experience and insights, with a shared philosophy of understanding and servicing our clients, coupled with a strong sense of community and a commitment to our culture and people,” said Michael J. Sicard, USI’s chairman and chief executive officer. “We look forward to leveraging our USI ONE Advantage® platform together to bring clients a unique suite of property and casualty, employee benefit, personal risk and retirement solutions with bottom line impact.” 

“We want to thank our teammates at Key Insurance & Benefits Services, Inc. for their contribution to Key.  Through this sale, we are highlighting our focus on delivering core banking services across our footprint.  We believe that Key Insurance & Benefits Services, Inc. and USI represent complementary businesses without geographic overlap and a shared commitment to providing strong client service and product expertise,” said E.J. Burke, Co-President, Key Community Bank.

“We are excited to join an insurance-only platform that is powered by the best technology in the industry, so our team can continue to provide our clients with the best service in the business,” Jensen said. “By joining USI, we will have an unrivaled toolkit to help our clients manage risk and benefits costs.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter 2018. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is acting as financial advisor to KeyBank in connection with the transaction.