Brown & Brown buys disability insurance firm formed by former Unum managers

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A disability insurance claims management firm formed 18 years ago by former Unum employees has been acquired by a subsidiary of Brown & Brown Inc.

The Advocator Group LLC, a Brown & Brown company that helps individuals apply for Social Security disability benefits, bought Professional Disability Associates LLC in Portland, Maine for an undisclosed amount. PDA, which grew to about $15 million in annual revenues, was formed by former Unum managers to provide specialty claims management services, including medical file review, vocational services, and claim consulting, to major disability insurers, reinsurers and self-insured employers.

Al Hemond, one of the principals in PDA, said the sale to Advocator "will further enhance the services we provide to our clients. We could not be more excited about this new partnership."

The PDA team will continue to operate from their offices in Portland, Maine, as Professional Disability Associates, LLC, under the leadership of Helmond and Kevin Riley.

"Like The Advocator Group, Al, Kevin and the PDA team have built a strong presence founded in expertise, sharing business insights and close relationships with clients," said Julie Turpin, CEO of The Advocator Group. "This partnership will allow both organizations to deliver service that drives deep and sustained value into carrier, customer and client relationships."

The sale was handled by the Chattanooga-based Oaklyn Consulting, which is headed by former Unum investment manager Frank Williamson who started Oaklyn two years ago after serving as one of the principals of Four Bridges Capital Advisors in Chattanooga. Williamson said that Oaklyn has worked with about 30 clients over the past couple of years in a variety of transactions.

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