Cape-based CJB Brokers acquires Rosen Insurance Brokers

CJB Brokers, a leading independent short-term insurance brokerage based in Cape Town, has announced the acquisition of Rosen Insurance Brokers (Pty) Ltd.

According to Saul Chait, Director at CJB Brokers, the acquisition will transform the business going forward. “The deal is a real milestone and is something that everyone in the business has been working hard towards achieving. This acquisition has almost doubled the size of the business immediately, which will have a huge impact on the group a few years down the line.”

CJB Brokers currently writes almost R50-million of annual premium, with Rosen writing between R35-million and R40-million.

“We expect the deal to have myriad benefits for the combined group. When you increase the size of a brokerage, it increases your negotiating power with insurance companies to achieve more favourable rates for clients,” says Chait.

“Rosen is a long and well-established short-term insurance brokerage, having been founded nearly 40 years ago. The company also has a similar customer profile to CJB, so the additional client book is particularly complementary.”

He says the deal has been structured so that Rosen’s existing senior partners and directors will remain with the business for the next 3 to 5 years. The two individual brands will also remain in existence, with the company being renamed CJB Brokers in association with Rosen Insurance Brokers.

This is the first acquisition that CJB Brokers has made since the company was established in 2006, aside from taking on a deceased estate portfolio.

Chait says the company will consider additional acquisitions in the future, though not in an aggressive manner. “Growth via acquisition is an excellent way to grow a brokerage but given the nature of the business involved, any acquisition needs to be decided upon extremely carefully, with cognisance of the client profile and the current people within the business,” he concludes.