Poms & Associates, one of the largest insurance brokerages in the San Fernando Valley with 120 employees, is acquiring Encino-based Stone, Harris & Stone from Brown & Brown, a brokerage in Daytona, Fla. The companies did not disclosed terms of the deal. Based in Woodland Hills, Poms writes about $450 million in premiums and specializes in commercial insurance, employee benefits, risk management and risk control. Large clients include public school systems in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Stone Harris & Stone specializes in serving the commercial insurance needs of small to midsized manufacturers. “We were a little light on that market segment,” said David Poms, president of the firm. “Stone, Harris filled a little bit of a gap for us.” Stone, Harris was acquired by Brown & Brown three and a half years ago. Poms said Brown & Brown released Stone from her contract, allowing Poms to purchase all the assets of the firm. The deal was unusual for Poms, which has grown organically and has avoided acquisitions for the most part. But this was a unique opportunity, Poms said. “The one thing we needed was more manufacturing clients,” he said. Stone said in a statement that the transaction enables her firm to “raise the bar on the services available to our clients. We look forward to working together to continue to offer top notch insurance and risk management expertise.” Judy Temes
