BB&T Acquires Leading Insurance Company

Through its recent acquisition of property insurance company ""Crump Group Inc."":crump.com/, ""BB&T Corporation"":www.bbt.com/ has doubled its wholesale insurance business. Based in New Jersey, Crump is among the nation's leading providers of wholesale commercial insurance, as well as the largest independent wholesale distributor of life insurance in the U.S.

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BB&T will pay Crump an estimated $570 million in cash to purchase its life, property, and casualty insurance services. The transaction is anticipated to add around $300 million in annual revenue to BB&T's insurance division.

The deal between the two companies has not cleared regulatory approval, though BB&T noted in an official statement that the acquisition is likely to close within the first quarter of 2012. Following the transaction, Crump will retain only its retirement services business, ""Ascensus"":www.ascensus.com/.

Commenting on the Crump buy out, BB&T's chairman and CEO, Kelly S. King, said, ""As the largest independent wholesale life insurance distributor in the country, the Crump acquisition

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significantly expands and strengthens our insurance operations. The deal is a great strategic fit for BB&T, immediately increasing and diversifying our fee income while driving stronger revenues.""

Wade Reece, chairman and CEO of BB&T Insurance, added his statements, noting, ""We've known and respected Crump for years and consider them an industry leader. This is an opportunity for BB&T to become a significant and strategic player in the high-growth, high-margin life insurance distribution business and expand our property and casualty business.""

Currently, BB&T's wholesale insurance operations encompass property and casualty broker, ""CRC Insurance Services"":www.crcins.com/; managing general agent, ""Southern Cross TAPCO Underwriters"":http://www.gotapco.com/default.aspx; and managing general underwriter, ""AmRisc LLP"":www.amrisc.com/. BB&T is the country's sixth largest insurance broker.

Through the deal, BB&T will have the advantage of 23 Crump offices around the U.S., as well as the company's relationships with over 100 life insurance entities. Crump's broad industry presence includes a network of more than 200,000 producers and institutional clients.

Crump's president and CEO, John Howard, will join ""BB&T Insurance"":insurance.bbt.com/ as a senior leader. Howard spoke out on the acquisition, saying, ""BB&T and Crump share a strong commitment to our clients and employees as evidenced by our consistently high customer satisfaction scores, industry awards and strong financial growth. We're excited about this partnership and look forward to bringing the wide range of Crump products and services, unique expertise, and our high-touch, caring approach to BB&T's clients.""