Relation Insurance Services has acquired Gary McKeighan Insurance Agency, Inc., a Fresno, California agency in the state's agricultural insurance market, in its third ag-focused acquisition of 2026.
The transaction took effect on June 30. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Gary McKeighan Insurance specializes in farm, agricultural, and business insurance in California's Central Valley, and also offers personal lines solutions. The agency operates in a state whose farm output reached a record $61.2 billion in 2024, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, making it the nation's top agricultural producer.
Jim Kinter, vice president of Gary McKeighan Insurance, said the agency's client focus will remain unchanged under Relation's ownership. He said the move will allow the team to offer clients a broader range of products backed by the resources of a national brokerage.
The Gary McKeighan acquisition is the third time in 2026 that Relation has targeted an agricultural specialist. The Chicago-based broker acquired Thorn Creek Insurance Services in February 2026, a Springfield, Illinois firm writing farm, livestock, and commercial agriculture risks. It followed that in May 2026 with the acquisition of Crop Rx Insurance Services, a Fresno-based federal crop insurance specialist with established grower relationships in the Central Valley.
The back-to-back deals point to a deliberate effort to consolidate ag-focused distribution in key US farming markets. California's Central Valley, where both Gary McKeighan and Crop Rx are based, is one of the most concentrated agricultural insurance markets in the country given the state's scale as a producer.
Since private equity firm Aquiline Capital Partners invested in the business in 2019, Relation has completed more than 100 acquisitions across the US to build specialist capability in property-casualty, employee benefits, and niche lines including agribusiness. In February, Aquiline agreed to sell Relation to private investment firm BayPine. A second private equity owner backing the platform signals that the buy-and-build strategy has further runway.
The broker now operates across more than 90 offices nationwide and employs approximately 1,400 people.
Tim Hall, chief executive officer of Relation, said the Gary McKeighan team brings ag industry expertise and established relationships that strengthen Relation's existing capabilities in that segment.
The acquisition fits a wider trend. National and super-regional brokers have been acquiring specialist agencies rather than building from the ground up, as local expertise and long-standing grower relationships are hard to replicate organically. In tightly regulated lines such as federal crop insurance, where policy terms are standardized and commissions are capped, scale and on-the-ground knowledge are what separate competitive operators from the rest.
Relation is actively seeking further acquisitions and offers equity ownership opportunities to independent operators looking to join a national platform.
