DALLAS – Integrity Marketing Group, LLC (“Integrity”), the nation’s largest independent distributor of life and health insurance products today announced it has acquired Western Asset Protection, a family-owned Insurance Marketing Organization (“IMO”) with an industry-leading focus on service and agent retention. As part of the acquisition, Western Asset Protection’s leadership team Mel Rose, Chairman, and Paul Rose, President, will both become owners in Integrity. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Four decades ago, Western Asset Protection was initially built on Long-Term Care and Medicare Supplement insurance. In 2005, they expanded into Medicare Advantage insurance products and emerged as a leading brokerage firm in the southwest with more than 2,200 agents nationwide. They have grown to serve more than 125,000 Americans with their insurance needs, resulting in almost $150 million in annual paid premium.
“Western Asset Protection is a world-class organization that has a single-minded focus on serving their agents,” said Bryan W. Adams, Co-Founder and CEO of Integrity. “They have one of the highest retention rates in the business—and for good reason. They already have a strong agent support system, but as an Integrity partner, their growth is about to skyrocket. Their agents will have access to our innovative MedicareCENTER technology platform and our full suite of agent tools which will dramatically increase their ability to serve more Americans than ever before.”
“We looked across the market and Integrity has everything we are looking for to scale our growth,” shared Paul Rose. “The power of their distribution is a key advantage in the marketplace. With Integrity, we’ll receive exclusive product offerings. We’ll be able to leverage efficiencies, tie into more advanced technology and speed up our ability to go to market. We can’t wait to tap into all the tools and services they offer and see how the ‘Integrity Effect’ fuels the fire of our recruiting power.”
Joining Integrity allows Western Asset Protection to utilize Integrity’s broad array of partner resources. These include IT, human resources, compliance and full-service advertising and marketing services. Agents receive access to valuable technology options including online quoting, enrollment and CRM capabilities. In addition, they can now offer their employees meaningful company ownership through the Integrity Employee Ownership Plan.
“Integrity’s core values are not only a statement, they are elements that they’ve been able to integrate,” stated Mel Rose. “No matter who you are in the company, Integrity values you and they show that with their Employee Ownership Plan. I’m excited that our employees are joining a much bigger family that is committed to helping them continue to grow.”
In addition to exclusive access to Integrity products, agent tools and resources, the Western Asset Protection’s leadership team has the opportunity to collaborate with industry icons through Integrity’s partner network.
“I have tremendous respect for the partners at the Integrity table,” said Paul Rose. “I’m looking forward to meeting at the campfire with these partners to share best practices and learn their secret sauce. The leaders Integrity has partnered with are legends in the industry and to collaborate with them is a dream come true.”