Insurance Office of America Announces Creation of New National Affiliate

    LONGWOOD, FL, August 15, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Insurance Office of America (IOA) announces the formation of a new affiliate called IOA National which is designed as an insurance agency acquisition alternative to private equity and public brokers. IOA National will provide innovative solutions to insurance agency principals and producers who are looking for assistance in perpetuating and growing their agencies.

IOA National will be led by Jeffrey Jones - CPCU and Mark J Smith - ACII, CIC. Jones has been appointed Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and was formerly the Chief Marketing Officer of USI Holdings Inc. Smith has been appointed as President and was formerly the Chief Executive Officer for USI's New England region.

Commenting on this exciting news, John Ritenour, Chairman of IOA, said, "We are delighted to be expanding our growing family of companies with the addition of Jeff and Mark. IOA National represents all of the qualities that IOA stands for; client focus, industry leading people, innovative products & services and caring for our communities and country. I am delighted to have Jeff and Mark joins us."

Jeffrey Jones commented, "IOA is a perfect partner for Mark and me to grow and expand our careers. We believe the market is poised for a new set of options for high quality agents and producers to join a privately held, client focused and innovative environment."

Mark J Smith added, "I have experienced the culture of public and private equity life. IOA National provides a platform for creativity to flourish and thrive. Agency principals and producers will experience a unique and caring environment that puts our clients first above all else. We will foster innovation and growth as key tenets to our success and our carrier partners will benefit from long term sustainable growth in key markets across the country. I am thrilled and excited about this next phase of my life."

Insurance Office of America (IOA) headquartered in Longwood FL is a privately held, full-service insurance agency founded in 1988 and is one of the fastest-growing independent insurance agencies in the U.S. IOA is Florida's largest privately-held insurance agency, currently the 8th largest privately-held agency by Insurance Journal, and the 27th largest U.S. broker according to Business Insurance magazine. IOA has offices coast-to-coast, stretching from Florida and New Jersey to California. IOA subsidiaries and affiliates include IOA Northeast, Inc, Payroll Office of America, Asset Advisors of America, Environmental Underwriting Solutions, Match up Promotions LLC, Public Entities of America, and Web Solutions of America. For more information, visit www.ioausa.com.

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