Sunstar Insurance Group LLC of Little Rock continued its expansion arc Tuesday, announcing a merger with First Arkansas Insurance of Pine Bluff.
The addition gives Sunstar 14 independent insurance locations statewide, along with 120 employees, according to a news release from Sunstar’s Arkansas CEO, Andrew “A.B.” Meadors. The group generates almost $19 million in combined revenue, the release said.
First Arkansas will keep its leadership and employees and operate as a division of Sunstar.
“This takes us to a whole new level,” Meadors said in a statement, adding that First Arkansas’ Mike Carter, David Beck, Nick Cox and Nick Dodd had performed well in growing an agency started by “the legendary Jay Bradford.” Meadors said he knew Bradford and Raymond Haynie well, and had known “the great” Don Spharler. “There is a longtime connection here,” Meadors said.
Providing context, Meadors said no independent agency broker had ever tried to operate with so many partners and locations across Arkansas. “We are all better together than we are separate, and this will translate into better offerings for our clients,” he said. “We are bullish on Arkansas and its people.”
Carter, First Arkansas’ president and CEO, said the merger will bring additional resources to his firm. “We look forward to adding our strengths to theirs,” he said in the release.
Sunstar Chairman and CEO David “Casey” Bowlin founded the group in Memphis in 2012. It has grown into the 32nd largest property and casualty insurance agency in the United States, as ranked by the trade magazine Insurance Journal. Owned by key employees and a group of outside private investors, it operates offices in Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Alabama, Georgia and Kansas.
Sign up for Daily E-news
