Quebec P&C brokerage Ellipse Assurances has named its new group insurance and group retirement subsidiary Ellipse Collective, or Ellipse Collectif in French, completing the rebrand of a business formed by merging three firms’ employee benefits teams.
The subsidiary brings together Ellipse’s own benefits team with BCH Collectif and Orchestro assurances et rentes collectives, both group insurance and employee benefits specialists. The partnership was announced on September 3, with the new name promised for October.
“This merger not only allows us to create new synergies between our areas of expertise, but also to offer an even stronger 360-degree service offering through close collaboration among all our teams,” said Jean-Simon St-Laurent, vice president of Ellipse Collective.
St-Laurent was previously director of operations at Orchestro. When the deal was announced, Ellipse said the subsidiary would be run by St-Laurent, Orchestro’s director of finance Jonathan Laverdière, and Ellipse Assurances president Patrice Jean. Jonathan Bolduc, an Orchestro director and vice president of BCH Collectif, would sit on the board.
Orchestro, founded in 2013, is a private, independent Quebec firm that designs and administers group insurance and group retirement programs for employers.
Ellipse said clients were to be notified on October 19. The switch to the new visual identity and work tools will happen gradually over the coming weeks, and a new website will launch in December.
Jean said the name reflects a way of working based on cooperation, knowledge sharing and solutions tailored to each client.
Ellipse describes itself as a hybrid P&C brokerage and financial services firm, with more than 30 branches across Quebec selling personal and commercial insurance.
Its move follows a pattern seen across the Canadian broker market this year. P&C-focused brokerages are building or buying group benefits and life insurance capabilities so they can serve more of each business client’s needs. In Ontario, McDougall Insurance acquired Stouffville group benefits broker Cassidy & Young earlier this month. PLATFORM Insurance has expanded its life and estate planning arm into Alberta.
For Quebec’s commercial clients, the combination means a single firm can handle both their property and casualty program and their employee benefits. That’s a strong position for keeping accounts, since businesses that buy several products from one broker are less likely to switch.
For independent group benefits advisors in Quebec, it’s another sign of consolidation. Smaller specialist firms are increasingly joining larger brokerage groups that can offer more resources, technology and cross-selling opportunities.
