Hilb Group expands Southeast presence with acquisition of Plan Benefit Services

Why is Hilb Group acquiring Plan Benefit Services and what does it mean for its Southeast strategy?

The Hilb Group, a rapidly growing property and casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage based in Richmond, Virginia, has announced the acquisition of South Carolina-headquartered Plan Benefit Services, Inc., furthering its expansion across the Southeastern United States. The acquisition, which closed on undisclosed financial terms, signals The Hilb Group’s continued push to scale its employee benefits platform through targeted regional partnerships.

Plan Benefit Services brings to the table over three decades of specialized experience in benefits consulting, employee coverage strategy, and mid-market brokerage. Since its founding in 1986, the West Columbia–based consultancy has operated as an independent firm, establishing a reputation for client-focused service and customized benefits design. With this acquisition, The Hilb Group integrates a firm that closely aligns with its core operational values of strategic guidance and tailored client solutions.

Hilb Group Chief Executive Officer Ricky Spiro emphasized the strategic fit of the deal, noting that the team at Plan Benefit Services exemplifies the kind of local leadership and specialized expertise that The Hilb Group seeks in its acquisition targets. “We look forward to partnering with the innovative team of professionals at PBSI,” Spiro stated. “PBSI is committed to delivering tailored benefits solutions and sound advice; this falls right in line with the THG values.”

What does Plan Benefit Services add to Hilb Group’s employee benefits capabilities?

Plan Benefit Services has cultivated a long-standing presence in South Carolina’s employee benefits market, serving a diverse client base with offerings that range from group health insurance and retirement plans to compliance consulting and benefits administration support. By combining local market knowledge with technical acumen, the South Carolina-based firm has sustained a competitive edge even as national carriers and platforms increasingly dominate the space.

The firm’s Managing Principal, Branford Armstrong, said the transition offers a logical evolution for his team and clients. “With our tradition of excellence, we are confident that joining THG will allow us to provide our clients additional resources and the support of a national brokerage while they will continue to work with a team they know and trust,” Armstrong explained.

Importantly, Armstrong and his associates will remain at their current office in West Columbia, reinforcing The Hilb Group’s preferred acquisition model—retain local leadership and preserve client relationships while providing expanded back-end and carrier support through a national platform.

This operational continuity is central to The Hilb Group’s acquisition strategy. Rather than absorbing firms into a monolithic structure, the insurance brokerage and advisory firm offers acquired businesses a decentralized integration model with shared resources, access to national-scale carriers, and robust administrative infrastructure, all while allowing local teams to maintain autonomy in client engagement.

How does this acquisition align with The Hilb Group’s broader growth-through-acquisition strategy?

The Hilb Group has built a reputation over the last decade for its disciplined and consistent acquisition strategy in the middle market insurance space. Backed by global private equity firm The Carlyle Group since late 2019, the insurance intermediary has significantly accelerated its pace of M&A activity.

Plan Benefit Services is one of several independent regional agencies acquired by The Hilb Group in 2020. These deals, which span both the employee benefits and property and casualty sides of the business, are part of a larger effort to build a diversified, high-margin portfolio of local brokers that bring client stickiness, regional specialization, and niche-sector penetration.

The Carlyle Group’s involvement has brought not only financial firepower but also operational sophistication to The Hilb Group’s acquisition process, enabling it to target firms with complementary cultures and scalable models. The structure of the PBSI acquisition—with Armstrong’s team remaining in place—mirrors that of previous deals, where acquired firms maintain day-to-day decision-making while benefiting from The Hilb Group’s centralized systems and national relationships.

Industry analysts observing the M&A environment in the insurance brokerage sector throughout 2020 have noted the resilience of mid-market platforms like The Hilb Group, particularly as the economic uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted smaller agencies to seek the stability and capital access that larger partners can provide.

Why are employee benefits consulting firms in the spotlight for consolidation?

The acquisition of Plan Benefit Services comes amid a broader wave of consolidation in the employee benefits space. Increasing regulatory complexity, healthcare cost inflation, and a shift toward value-based insurance design have made it more difficult for small firms to operate independently without scale. In addition, employers are demanding more comprehensive, tech-enabled solutions, from digital onboarding and claims management to analytics-driven plan customization.

For platforms like The Hilb Group, adding regional firms with existing client relationships allows them to scale more quickly while entering markets that require localized engagement strategies. Firms like PBSI, which have spent decades cultivating trust among mid-sized employers, are particularly attractive to aggregators aiming to combine national reach with local agility.

In South Carolina and across the Southeast, where economic growth is being driven by both manufacturing and healthcare sectors, employee benefits brokers who can offer flexible, high-touch service are finding themselves courted by national platforms looking to fill coverage gaps and enhance service offerings. The Southeast has emerged as a core geography in The Hilb Group’s expansion map, and acquisitions like PBSI reinforce the firm’s intention to build dense regional ecosystems within its national framework.

What are the immediate implications for clients and stakeholders of Plan Benefit Services?

For clients of Plan Benefit Services, the acquisition offers enhanced access to tools and solutions that are increasingly becoming table stakes in the benefits brokerage industry. These include advanced data analytics capabilities, expanded carrier options, national-scale benchmarking data, and compliance assistance under changing federal and state-level laws.

While no operational or personnel changes have been announced, the West Columbia office is now integrated into The Hilb Group’s Southeast division, providing clients continuity in service while layering in new strategic advisory capabilities. For Plan Benefit Services employees, the deal likely offers expanded professional development opportunities and access to broader back-office resources that support long-term business continuity.

From a strategic standpoint, the integration of PBSI could also bolster The Hilb Group’s ability to compete for larger employer accounts in South Carolina by presenting a more robust and multidimensional service platform. It also enhances the group’s value proposition in industries such as education, logistics, and healthcare—key verticals in the region where benefits customization is increasingly a competitive differentiator.

Can The Hilb Group maintain its acquisition pace and integration quality going forward?

While The Hilb Group has demonstrated a consistent ability to identify and onboard culturally aligned firms like Plan Benefit Services, the sustainability of its acquisition-led growth model will depend on continued access to capital, retention of acquired talent, and disciplined integration practices. The Carlyle Group’s backing provides financial runway for additional deals, but the firm’s real differentiator remains its ability to blend national infrastructure with local relationship capital.

In a post-pandemic environment where clients are increasingly focused on resilience, cost efficiency, and digital capabilities, The Hilb Group is positioning itself as a platform that combines boutique service with enterprise-level support. Acquisitions like PBSI reinforce this hybrid model by preserving the client intimacy of independent brokers while enabling scale benefits and strategic alignment.

With the PBSI acquisition, The Hilb Group not only strengthens its Southeast operations but also signals that it remains committed to expanding its presence in high-growth regional markets through targeted, culture-fit acquisitions.