San Diego Insurance Firms C3 Risk & Insurance Services and B. Wood Insurance Partner to Merge Employee Benefits Practice
C3 boasts additional expertise in employee benefits as a result of merger, demonstrates the best partnerships can be found in ‘your own backyard’
Two notable local names in privately-held insurance—C3 Risk & Insurance Services and B. Wood Insurance—have joined forces to expand employee benefits plan services to current and prospective clients. The merger went into effect on October 1, 2022. The company will operate under the C3 Risk & Insurance Services name and deepen and diversify specialty expertise through the strategic partnership.
Leaders of the two San Diego insurance companies began talks in 2021 when they realized their professional and personal circles overlapped in several areas. When they discovered the close alignment of their organizational values and how complementary their skill sets were, the partnership felt like the next right step for both firms.
C3 offers personal and commercial lines of insurance, risk management solutions, and tailored employee benefits plans to businesses of all sizes. Merging with B. Wood Insurance adds 17 years of industry experience with an emphasis on employee benefits programs.
“It’s unbelievable to think that Ben and I have lived in the same community, we’ve had kids in the same schools, and we’re so aligned in our business principles—yet it took us 15 years to connect,” says Jamie Reid, chairman of the board, C3 Risk & Insurance Services. “When two organizations come together, you want it to benefit both. C3 and B. Wood each bring something to the table that helps the other be better in the marketplace. We both want to leave a lasting legacy in and for the community.”
Wood Insurance co-founders and brothers Ben Wood and Bryan Wood will now be managing directors at C3 Risk & Insurance Services as a result of the merger and they bring a team of eight additional benefits experts to C3. B. Wood Insurance is the premier employee benefits shop in Southern California, which accelerates the capacity of C3’s benefits division.
“We want to do business with people we like, to treat others with respect, and to do the right thing,” says Ben Wood, president and CEO of B. Wood Insurance. “We’ve witnessed how C3 treats their employees, clients, and people in the community. They always seek to lift people up. We’re alike in that we want to give our clients our very best and be there when they need us.”
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