WARREN, Pa., Nov. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwest
Savings Bank announced today that it has signed a definitive
agreement to acquire The Bert Company, doing business as The Bert
Insurance Group, an employee benefits and property and casualty
insurance firm. The Bert Insurance Group specializes in commercial
and personal insurance planning as well as retirement benefit
plans. The Bert Insurance Group serves all of northwestern
Pennsylvania from its location in
Erie, PA. The company has an
extensive list of manufacturing, nonprofit, education,
municipality, service industry, construction, and professional
clients.
In making the announcement, Gregory C.
LaRocca, Executive Vice President of Northwest, commented,
"The Bert Insurance Group brings another dimension to our financial
services group, and we believe that strong synergies exist for the
cross sale of insurance, investment, trust, retail and business
deposit and lending products and services. Their corporate mission
and values are very similar to ours and they emphasize customer
relationships over transactions, just like Northwest. We also
believe that the strong management team at The Bert Insurance Group
gives us the opportunity to expand their services throughout the
Northwest footprint."
The Bert Insurance Group will operate as a subsidiary of
Northwest Savings Bank. The former owner, Douglas H.
Bert, will remain with the company and assume
corporate management responsibilities as President of Northwest's
insurance operations. According to Mr.
Bert, Northwest Savings Bank's mission, vision and values
align well with those of their firm. "We are honored to
affiliate with Northwest Savings Bank. We look forward to
introducing new services to our valued clients and to expanding the
scope of Northwest Savings' services to include property and
casualty insurance."
The Bert Insurance Group was cofounded in 1994 by J. Boyd Bert Jr. and his son Doug Bert with a focus on estate liquidity needs
and employee benefit planning. Its consultative sales approach
along with its strong focus on relationship management has allowed
the company to achieve strong revenue growth over the years. In
2002 it acquired the Renshaw Agency and, in 2004, the Best Agency
each specializing in property and casualty insurance.
Headquartered in Erie PA, The Bert Insurance Group operates
from 3645 West Lake Road.
Founded in 1896, Northwest Savings Bank currently holds assets
of $8 billion and operates 166
community-banking locations in Pennsylvania, New
York, Ohio, and
Maryland. Northwest Savings Bank is a full-service financial
institution offering a complete line of retail and business banking
products as well as investment management, brokerage and trust
services.
Forward-Looking Statements - This press release may contain
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
may involve certain risks and uncertainties. Factors that may cause
actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such
forward-looking statements, include among others, the following
possibilities: (1) changes in the interest rate environment; (2)
competitive pressure among financial services companies; (3)
general economic conditions including an increase in non-performing
loans that could result from an economic downturn; (4) changes in
legislation or regulatory requirements; (5) difficulties in
continuing to improve operating efficiencies; (6) difficulties in
the integration of acquired businesses; and (7) increased risk
associated with an increase in commercial real-estate and business
loans and non-performing loans. Management has no obligation
to revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect
events or circumstances that arise after the date of this
release.
SOURCE Northwest Savings Bank