Insurance brokers join forces

Four of the region’s most respected and longest serving insurance brokers are coming together as one, effective June 1, 2020. Parkway Insurance (Erickson), Vanguard Financial (Rossburn), Asselstine Agencies (Birtle) and NorthStar Insurance (Roblin) will together be known as North Star Insurance and Real Estate Inc.

“All four brokers are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Fusion Credit Union, and have been for a number of years now,” explained Darwin Johns, Fusion’s Chief Executive Officer. “Bringing them all together under a single umbrella will make their affiliation with each other much clearer in our market and, in the longer term, will provide some opportunities for growth as well.”

Ryan Keown, who will continue to manage the NorthStar offices in Roblin and Birtle, is enthusiastic about the new entity. “Operating under the same name, we’ll be able to consolidate and enhance our online presence,” he said. “We’ll also be able to raise our profile in the real estate market over a much broader area — in fact, we’ll be opening an office in Brandon, possibly as soon as this summer.”

Brian Currie, manager of NorthStar’s Rossburn and Erickson locations, shares Keown’s excitement. “We have a terrific staff, who really know the business and are laser-focused on making sure every client is taken care of,” he said. “Being part of a larger network gives us even more capacity, and a real opportunity to build on our reputation as the first choice for professional expertise and personal service in the communities we serve.”

Management and staff will remain the same at all four locations, with no changes to office hours, telephone numbers or other details related to day-to-day operations.

(submitted)