Insurance Merger: Herndon Acquired by Stahl & Assoc.

Sep 1, 2011

The following article was published in the Lakeland Ledger on September 1, 2011:

Insurance merger:  Herndon acquired by Stahl & Associates

By Kyle Kennedy

Herndon and Associates Insurance of Lakeland has been acquired by a St. Petersburg insurance firm.

The acquiring company, Stahl and Associates Insurance, is an independent firm with 100 employees and three offices in St. Petersburg, Oldsmar and Lake Mary.

The addition of Lakeland-based Herndon “expands our footprint along the I-4 corridor,” said Bob Stahl, president of Stahl & Associates, in a prepared statement. “It increases our presence in Florida, adds to our capabilities, and is part of our overall strategy to continue growing and maintaining independence within the industry. Herndon & Associates’ culture and company aligns with ours, and our combined experience will make this a great partnership.”

Herndon is now doing business as Stahl Herndon and Associates Insurance. The full-service, independent agency was started in 1975 and has 25 employees. Duane Pugh, the company’s managing partner, said the management team is staying in place and no changes are planned, though he said customers will now have access to a larger selection of insurance carriers and other resources.

“It allows us to take better care of our clients,” Pugh said. “If I was going to merge, I couldn’t have picked anyone any better.”

Herndon offers personal, commercial, life, health and benefits insurance.

Stahl and Associates made the St. Petersburg Times’ 2011 list of the top workplaces in Tampa Bay. The company’s services include commercial insurance and risk management, employee benefits and financial services, and personal insurance. The company says it has more than 10,000 policyholders.

Find this article here:  http://www.theledger.com/article/20110901/NEWS/110909947/1178?Title=Insurance-Merger-Herndon-Acquired-by-Stahl-Assoc-