Inszone Insurance Services has acquired Hometown Insurance Center, a Canyonville, Oregon agency with more than 70 years of history writing logging, forestry, trucking, and contracting risks in Southern Oregon's Douglas County. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The deal extends Inszone's commercial lines presence in Oregon and adds a book built around specialty risks that most standard carriers are reluctant to write. Logging workers recorded 110.4 deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers in 2024, more than 33 times the national all-worker rate, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. Coverage for operations in this class typically spans inland marine, loggers broad form liability, commercial auto, and workers' compensation. Each requires carriers with specific underwriting experience rather than standard commercial markets.
Hometown Insurance Center, operating today as M&B Gross, LLC, was founded in 1953 and has served Douglas County communities for more than seven decades. Brandi Gross joined the agency nearly 30 years ago and became its owner in 2017. She built the commercial book around the logging and trucking industries she grew up in. She said succession and staff protection drove her decision to sell more than the transaction terms themselves.
"What won me over was that Inszone genuinely wanted to take care of my team and keep what we had built, and they laid out a real plan for transition and future retirement," Gross said. "That is what spoke to me."
Gross added that the Hometown team will continue serving its existing clients while integrating into Inszone's systems. Clients gain access to a broader carrier network and back-office resources as part of the transition.
The deal arrives as the broader agency acquisition market contracts. North American agency deals fell to 292 in the first half of 2026, down 15% from a year earlier. That marked the lowest first-half total since 2016, according to OPTIS Partners. Despite the overall slowdown, OPTIS said valuations have remained high for well-run agencies with strong specialty books, while softening for others.
The valuation split reflects a shift in what buyers are paying up for. Agencies with organic growth, operational depth, and genuine specialty expertise are still drawing competitive interest. Those with owner-dependent books, weak retention, or commoditized personal lines face a tougher environment, according to OPTIS' analysis of the H1 2026 market.
Inszone has remained one of the market's most active buyers through the contraction. The Sacramento-based firm completed 33 acquisitions in the first six months of 2026, second only to BroadStreet Partners' 37, according to OPTIS. The firm is backed by private equity investors BHMS Investments and Lightyear Capital and operates across 25 states with more than 1,500 employees.
The same succession rationale has appeared across several recent Inszone deals. In a June Arizona acquisition, the outgoing principal cited the need for a perpetuation plan as the primary reason for choosing Inszone over other potential buyers.
Chris Walters, CEO of Inszone Insurance Services, said the agency's specialty depth and community roots made it a fit for the firm's acquisition strategy. "An independent agency that has served its community for more than 70 years, with authentic specialty expertise in logging, forestry, and contracting, does not come along every day," Walters said.
