Hub International Acquires N.J. Specialist

Hub International Limited has acquired, for an undisclosed amount of cash, the stock of Sondheim & Laughlin, Inc.(Sondheim), an Iselin, New Jersey specialist in arranging auto physical damage and liability insurance for the public auto and limousine industry.

Sondheim, founded in 1875, has annual revenue of approximately $2 million. The firm will remain in Iselin and become part of the Company’s New York City hub, Kaye Group Inc.

Sondheim’s principals are Robert Laughlin, president, who is retiring, and George Hansen, vice president. Hansen, with Sondheim for 20 years, will become a vice president of Kaye Group, reporting to Howard Nenner, first vice president. Nenner joined Kaye Group in September 2002 when Kaye acquired C.S. Nenner, Inc., a Bordentown, New Jersey specialist in placing transportation and warehousing coverage for trucking companies.

Kaye Group is one of 11 regional “hubs” that make up Hub International Limited. Hub International’s growth strategy includes the acquisition of large entrepreneurial brokerages that service primarily middle market clients, and the expansion of these regional hubs through fold-in acquisitions of smaller, local firms. Since January 1, 2003 Hub has made six fold-in acquisitions, including Sondheim.

“We are very pleased to expand our transportation insurance specialty business and to bolster our impact in New Jersey by adding the strength of the Sondheim firm and George Hansen’s expertise to the existing capability of Howard Nenner’s group,” said Martin Hughes, Hub chairman and CEO. “This advances a major component of our strategy: broadening and deepening our specialty offerings to middle market businesses – in this case in the very busy northeastern commercial corridor.”