Three client accounts moved from USI to a rival firm - and now the brokerage wants a court to make it stop.
USI Insurance Services, a national brokerage, has sued MacNair Enterprises, a competing firm it says was started by one of its former producers. According to the complaint, the rival took on three USI client accounts that the producer was contractually barred from soliciting or servicing after he left.
The complaint, filed August 5, 2026, in New Jersey federal court, centers on restrictive covenants USI says the producer signed when he joined in 2023. One term barred him from using USI's "Confidential Information" for three years after leaving. Others blocked him, for one to two years, from soliciting or servicing accounts he had managed, or from signing a broker of record letter with them.
That last term does a lot of work here. A broker of record letter, or BOR, is how a client names the broker who handles its insurance - and gets paid for it. Change the BOR, and the broker changes.
That, USI alleges, is what happened. The filing says the former producer's employment ended in January 2026 and that he soon started MacNair Enterprises, which competes directly with USI. Then, in April 2026, USI says BOR requests came in for three clients - Phoenix Flavors & Fragrances, Strides Pharma and Tilley Distribution - signaling their accounts were moving. According to the complaint, the business went to MacNair Enterprises. USI puts the anticipated annual revenue at more than $210,000 for Phoenix, more than $92,000 for Strides and more than $35,000 for Tilley.
USI says it reached out to all three clients. Phoenix and Strides did not respond, according to the filing, and Tilley confirmed it had switched its BOR to MacNair Enterprises. The complaint also says the former producer, in an April 2026 email, acknowledged he had been in contact with all three accounts since leaving and indicated their business had moved to his firm.
For brokers, the timing is the sharp edge of this case. USI says that once a client changes its BOR, it has "only days" to try to win the client back under the terms insurers impose. That short window, the complaint suggests, is why USI is seeking not just money but a court order to stop the rival firm.
The suit brings three claims against MacNair Enterprises: tortious interference - essentially, knowingly helping someone break a contract - along with unjust enrichment and unfair competition under New Jersey common law. USI alleges the company knew about the producer's agreement, since he is its president and sole member, and accepted the accounts anyway. It is asking the court for damages, disgorged profits, interest, attorneys' fees, and orders barring further use of its confidential information.
The individual producer is not a defendant in this New Jersey case. USI says a separate action against him is pending in federal court in Connecticut.
The allegations have not been tested in court. MacNair Enterprises has not filed a response to the complaint, and no court has ruled on any of USI's claims.
