PASADENA, Calif. — What started in 2004 as a way to deepen the Wescom Credit Union member relationship has turned into Wescom Insurance Services–an insurance CUSO that just keeps growing.

"Wescom was looking for a value added service for the membership–something they would provide at a low cost that would be a true benefit to members," said WIS President Lyle Sandlin. "They decided on an insurance agency." Sandlin says after some two years of research and talking to agencies Wescom retained the services of Marsh, Berry and Associates for the actual acquisition of Hallmark Associates Insurance Services.

"Not every insurance agency represents all insurance companies so when looking for an agency to acquire you want to find one that contracts with a mix of insurance carriers that write insurance on a very competitive basis," said Sandlin. "Starting an agency from scratch would be an excellent idea if you could arrange to get all your contracts from day one but that is not how the insurance business works. It is one of the biggest hurdles to starting an insurance agency from scratch–carriers are hesitant about the risks with a new agency."