Unity Partners LP, a principles-based middle market investment firm, has announced a strategic partnership and collaboration with insurance brokerage platform Tropolis.
Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Tropolis is focused on acquiring independent insurance brokerage firms that provide property and casualty (P&C) and employee benefits solutions. Its goal is to build a platform that allows partner agencies to benefit from increased scale, shared resources and new growth opportunities.
Tropolis is led by co-founders Jeff Mason, Jim Ryans, and Ben Calnin. Mason, who serves as its CEO, previously established insurance technology platform Groundspeed Analytics.
“After quickly aligning on a shared vision of partnering to evaluate attractive growth opportunities in the insurance brokerage market, we’re excited about Unity’s abilities to help us execute on this strategy,” said Mason. “We anticipate the partnership will open new avenues for brokerages to accelerate growth through technology and shared resources, while creating ownership opportunities for their employees.”
A press release from Unity Partners said the partnership signifies its move into the “resilient and highly fragmented” US insurance brokerage market, which is estimated to be a $146 billion industry.
“This partnership is a great example of our ‘Partner & Propel’ strategy, as we see a prime opportunity to bring on additional expertise and resources to Tropolis,” said John Block, CEO and co-founder of Unity Partners. “We’re confident that Jeff and the Tropolis team are the ideal partners to execute strategic M&A. We’ve been actively collaborating with them to build a pipeline of strong partner agencies that will help realize our goal of building an industry-leading platform.”
Employee ownership is a key component of Unity Partners’ approach to platform investments. In line with this ethos, Tropolis will introduce a Purpose Plan, designed to allow employees of partner agencies to share in its financial success and capital events.
“With my experience in this sector, I’ve seen the impact that technology can have on businesses across the insurance industry,” said Bryan W. Adams, co-founder and chairman of Unity Partners, and CEO of Integrity Marketing Group. “The Tropolis platform and data-first approach will be a significant enhancement for smaller agencies, and we’re thrilled to see the value that they can bring to partner agencies to help streamline operations and accelerate growth.”
Tropolis is the third strategic partnership that Unity Partners has entered into in 2023, following its investments in NDH and Poolie.
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