Tag Archives: employee benefits

Ascende, Inc., a Leading Human Capital and Employee Benefits Consulting Firm, Joins EPIC

Ascende Inc

HOUSTON, Texas and SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Jan. 7, 2016 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Ascende, Inc. (Ascende), a premier human capital and employee benefits consulting firm, and EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a unique and innovative national retail insurance brokerage and employee benefits consulting firm, announced today that they have joined forces.

Founded in 1995, Houston, Texas-based Ascende is one of the largest independent employee benefits consulting firms in the country, providing solutions in a variety of human capital related fields, including health and welfare, benefit plan administration, retirement, investment advisory, pharmacy management, wellness, communications, global benefit solutions, mergers and acquisitions consulting and human resources consulting services.

EPIC, founded in 2007, is one of the 20 largest U.S. retail insurance brokers, with a belief in and reputation for service excellence, innovation, community service, collaboration and having fun - all in the interest of being a "people first" (clients and team members) organization.

"Ascende has been delivering strategic guidance and service around benefit programs and HR needs to our clients for over 21 years, and we believe the decision to join EPIC will help us deliver an expansive new set of capabilities to our clients and additional value, with the same commitment to service delivery that Ascende has been a hallmark of our firm. We expect that our clients will immediately benefit from EPIC's broader resources including risk management, property & casualty insurance, workers' compensation, management and executive liability, and private client services," says Ascende Chief Executive Officer Jim Watt. "We are thrilled to join a unique and successful company like EPIC."

As part of EPIC, the firm will now operate as Ascende, Inc. - an EPIC Company. Jim Watt will assume additional responsibility as EPIC's President, Southwest Region, and the Ascende leadership team will continue to play vital roles within the larger EPIC organization.

Said EPIC CEO John Hahn, "We found a strong cultural partner in Ascende, in an important and highly desirable region, where we have wanted to be a partner in the community and see strong opportunities for growth. EPIC has been investing heavily in our employee benefits consulting capabilities across the country and Ascende, with the leadership of Jim Watt and his team in the Southwest, will add significant value to our clients and create further opportunities for all of our employees' long term growth and career success."

EPIC President Peter Garvey added, "In addition to the integration and expansion of our respective benefits platforms, Ascende provides a platform in the Southwest to extend our risk management, property casualty insurance, program solutions and private client services to companies across the region and nationally. We could not be happier to have the entire Ascende team join the EPIC family."

The addition of Ascende significantly expands EPIC's employee benefit capabilities nationally, adding nearly 100 top professionals and a strong client base in the Southwest to EPIC's existing team of more than 200 employee benefits professionals across the country.

About Ascende - an EPIC Company:

One of the largest independent employee benefits only consulting firms in the country, Houston-based Ascende specializes in health and welfare consulting, benefit plan administration, retirement and investment advisory, wellness, communications, global benefit solutions, mergers and acquisitions consulting and human resources consulting services.

Ascende also offers services unique to the employee benefits industry through the Ascendent(R) Pharmacy Coalition, a purchasing cooperative that reduces pharmaceutical costs to employers.

For additional information, please visit http://www.ascende.com/ .

About EPIC:

EPIC is a unique and innovative retail property & casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm. EPIC has created a values-based, client-focused culture that attracts and retains top talent, fosters employee satisfaction and loyalty and sustains a high level of customer service excellence. EPIC team members have consistently recognized their company as a "Best Place to Work" in multiple regions across California and as a "Best Place to Work in the Insurance Industry" nationally.

EPIC now has more than 850 team members operating from offices across the U.S., providing Property Casualty, Employee Benefits, Specialty Programs and Private Client solutions to more than 13,000 clients.

For additional information, please visit http://www.epicbrokers.com/ .

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Twitter: @EPIC_Insurance

To view the original version on Send2Press Newswire, visit: https://www.send2press.com/newswire/ascende-inc-a-leading-human-capital-and-employee-benefits-consulting-firm-joins-epic-2016-0107-01.shtml.

NEWS SOURCE EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants :: This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (who is solely responsible for its accuracy) by and Copr. © 2016 Send2Press® Newswire, a service of Neotrope®.

EPIC Recognized as Fastest Growing Employee Benefits Broker by Business Insurance Magazine

Employee Benefits

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Oct. 14, 2015 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a retail property, casualty insurance brokerage and employee benefits consultant, has received top rankings from Business Insurance Magazine in its 2015 Broker Supplement in three categories:

* Ranked #1 in the "Top 25 Benefits Brokers By Growth." EPIC had an annual revenue increase of 132.5 percent in 2014.

* Ranked #3 in the "Fastest Growing in 2014" with a 108.4 percent rate of growth in 2014 total brokerage revenue.

* Ranked #17 among the "Largest U.S. Commercial Retail Brokers," (excluding employee benefits revenue) with 2014 commercial retail revenue of $110,586,000.

As one of the fastest growing private insurance brokerage and employee benefits consulting firms based in the U.S., EPIC has been on an aggressive growth trajectory. In 2014, EPIC set out a strategy for expanding its employee benefits consulting services and client support and has been executing well against its plan. Fueled by entrepreneurial innovation, shared values and a client-focused culture, EPIC's strategic growth plan is successfully driving steady expansion into new regions and markets.

"Being recognized in these important industry rankings reflects our commitment to delivering the highest level of customer service excellence and expanding our expertise to meet our customers' unique needs," said EPIC CEO, John Hahn. "We are proud of this recognition and motivated to create even more value in the markets we serve. Our customers can expect to see EPIC's expanded offerings and innovative solutions continue to grow in the future."

Industries and specialty practice areas served by EPIC include Financial Institutions; Energy Construction; Architecture, Engineering and Law Firms; Contractors; Real Estate; Healthcare; Non-profits; Transportation and Logistics; and Employee and Executive Benefits Consulting, including ACA Compliance, Benefits and HR Technology, Employee Communication, Voluntary Benefits, Wellness and the EPIC Exchange Platform (EXP).

About EPIC:

Headquartered in San Francisco, EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants has nationwide presence with a depth of industry expertise across key lines of insurance, including commercial property and casualty, employee benefits, unique specialty program insurance, and private client services. Since its founding in 2007, EPIC has grown revenue from $12 million to an estimated run rate of $200 million through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions, and remains a fixture on the insurance industry's 'Best Places to Work' lists. Its strategic partners include private equity firms The Carlyle Group and Stone Point Capital.

To learn more, visit http://www.epicbrokers.com/.

To view the original version on Send2Press Newswire, visit: https://www.send2press.com/newswire/epic-recognized-as-fastest-growing-employee-benefits-broker-by-business-insurance-magazine-2015-1014-01.shtml.

NEWS SOURCE EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants :: This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (who is solely responsible for its accuracy) by and Copr. © 2015 Send2Press® Newswire, a service of Neotrope®.