DATE: Friday, July 18, 1997                 TAG: 9707180622

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   34 lines

INSURANCE COMPANY EXPANDS IN STATE

One year after buying the Henderson & Phillips Insurance agency in Norfolk, a San Francisco-based holding company has purchased a suburban Richmond firm, A.W. Hargrove Insurance Agency Inc.

USI Insurance Services Corp., the acquirer, and Hargrove Insurance of Hanover County did not disclose the terms of their transaction.

Organized in 1925, Hargrove Insurance had been owned by members of the Hargrove family, including former chairman Frank D. Hargrove Sr. Hargrove, a member of the House of Delegates who represents Hanover County, had been chairman of the agency. He has become a consultant.

Frank Hargrove Jr., vice president for personal insurance, said Hargrove Insurance will keep its name and its five offices.

In addition to offices in Hanover and Richmond, the agency has a presence in Norfolk, Tappahannock, Charlottesville and Exmore. Hargrove Insurance has a Richmond-based unit that specializes in auto insurance, Auto Insurance Clinic, but derives 80 percent of its business from commercial lines, Hargrove said.

The agency, said Hargrove, expects to keep its 82 employees and existing management.

Independent agencies have had to contend with limited growth in the demand for insurance and mounting competition as more banks enter the business. Agencies of all sizes have responded to these forces by merging and cutting costs.

It's too early to say whether any of Hargrove's operations will be consolidated with those of Henderson & Phillips, Hargrove said. The two agencies, he said, will concentrate on increasing their share of the insurance market.

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