Covington Associates Announces Advisory Role in the Sale of Garity Associates Brokerage Insurance Agency, Inc to Integrity Marketing Group, LLC

August 3, 2021 (Boston, MA) – Covington Associates, a leading middle market investment bank announced its role as exclusive financial advisor to Garity Associates Brokerage Insurance Agency, Inc (“GarityAdvantage”), one of New England’s largest independent marketing organizations (“IMO”) based in Boston, Massachusetts, in the sale of its business to Integrity Marketing Group, LLC (“Integrity”), the nation’s largest independent distributor of life and health insurance products. As part of the acquisition, Brian Garity, CEO of GarityAdvantage, and Rachel Garity, CFO of GarityAdvantage, will become Managing Partners in Integrity. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Boston native Joe Garity, Jr., founded GarityAdvantage in 1970 to help seniors secure the best insurance products for their needs. Initially focused exclusively on New England, the family-operated firm has greatly expanded its footprint in recent years, becoming a powerful force not just in the Northeast but across the nation. Through its half-century in business, GarityAdvantage has experienced significant growth by placing unwavering focus on broker support, which has created long lasting relationships with its team of agents. GarityAdvantage offers health and life insurance products to the senior market with a specialty in Medicare Advantage. Through its network of thousands of agents, GarityAdvantage will serve more than 250,000 Americans in 2021.

“The deep commitment GarityAdvantage has shown to serving agents during its 50 years in business is truly inspiring,” said Bryan W. Adams, Co-Founder and CEO of Integrity Marketing Group. “They have demonstrated the power of teamwork for long-term success, which mirrors what we’re creating at Integrity. When you combine the deep history of GarityAdvantage with all the amazing resources Integrity provides, there is no limit to what we can do. I’m thrilled to welcome the GarityAdvantage team to the Integrity family and can’t wait to help even more Americans together.”

“Integrity is leading our industry toward the future on every front and we’re so excited to be part of it,” explained Brian Garity, CEO of GarityAdvantage. “Partnering with Integrity gives our brokers access to resources we’ve wanted for a long time, such as call centers, more training and enhanced technology. Our core values are very important to us and with Integrity, we’ve found a partner whose values are completely aligned. We’ve seen our share of great days as a company — partnering with Integrity sets the stage for even greater days to come.”

GarityAdvantage can now advance its aggressive growth strategy by accessing Integrity’s innovative insurtech platform, which includes proprietary quoting and enrollment tools, MedicareCENTER, product development, data and analytics, as well as a world-class advertising and marketing firm. Shared services offered to all Integrity partners include IT, human resources, legal, compliance and accounting.

As an Integrity partner, GarityAdvantage joins Integrity’s unmatched network of national leaders, who collaborate to share best practices and expertise. These partners include CSG Actuarial, ThomasARTS, Deft Research, Access Capital, Brokers International and Insurance Administrative Solutions’ third-party administrator, as well as leading call centers Connexion Point, SeniorCare Benefits and Unified Health.

In addition, GarityAdvantage employees are now eligible for the Integrity Employee Ownership Plan, which provides meaningful company ownership to employees.

“The growth we’ve experienced at GarityAdvantage is incredible — it’s amazing what happens when you put people first,” shared Rachel Garity, CFO of GarityAdvantage. “We know we’ve found a partner in Integrity who takes care of their employees the same way we do. From allowing them to share in profitability through the Employee Ownership Plan to offering the Women in Leadership program, our team has so many exciting opportunities for growth. In addition, Integrity has teamed up with the best leaders in the industry and we’re very proud to be part of that network. This is the culmination of a long journey for us and we couldn’t be more excited for what comes next.”

“GarityAdvantage has been a trailblazer for Medicare products in the New England area for many years,” said Steve Young, Integrity’s Chairman of the Board. “By now joining with Integrity, they are able to capitalize on the resources we bring to the table as they experience the impact of the ‘Integrity Effect.’ Together, we are building a new era of growth and expansion for their business as they prepare for another 50 years of industry leadership.”

For more information about GarityAdvantage’s decision to join Integrity, view a video at www.integritymarketing.com/GarityAdvantage.

About Covington Associates

Covington Associates is an investment banking firm offering advisory services in the areas of mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”), capital raising and strategic advisory to middle-market companies across the Healthcare, Business Services, Consumer & Industrial, and Technology verticals.  Founded in 1991 and based in Boston, the vision for Covington has been to provide clients with the highest caliber of senior-level attention and to remain an advice driven and results focused organization.  Since its inception, Covington Associates has completed over 350 transactions globally for both private and publicly traded companies totaling over $20 billion. Further information can be found at http://www.covingtonassociates.com/overview/.

About Integrity Marketing Group

Integrity Marketing Group, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is the leading independent distributor of life and health insurance products focused on meeting Americans wherever they are — in person, over the phone and online. Integrity is innovating insurance by developing cutting-edge technology designed to simplify and streamline the healthcare experience for everyone. In addition, Integrity develops exclusive products with insurance carrier partners and markets these products through its distribution network that includes other large insurance agencies throughout the country. Integrity’s almost 5,500 employees work with over 375,000 independent agents who service more than eight million clients annually. In 2021, Integrity expects to help insurance carriers place over $7 billion in new sales. For more information, visit www.integritymarketing.com.

About GarityAdvantage

GarityAdvantage is a leading IMO headquartered in Massachusetts, that specializes in marketing life and health insurance products to independent agents across the United States. They have more than 20,000 agents serving 125,000 Americans with their insurance needs. In 2020, they placed over $100 million in annual paid premium. They enjoy and take pride in the relationships they have built over the years with their agents and insurance carriers. These relationships have been a key factor in their success and continued growth. For more information, visit https://garityadvantage.com/.