Heffernan Insurance Brokers
Corporate brand
UnclaimedHeffernan Insurance Brokers is a privately held, independent US insurance brokerage serving businesses and individuals with commercial, personal and employee-benefits coverage.
Last updated October 30, 2026
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Overview
Heffernan Insurance Brokers is an independent insurance brokerage headquartered in Walnut Creek, California. Founded in 1988 by F. Michael Heffernan, the firm began as a small regional brokerage and grew into one of the larger privately held independent brokerages on the US West Coast, with a network of offices across California and other states. The company operates as a retail broker rather than a carrier: it does not underwrite risk itself but places coverage with insurance companies on behalf of clients. Its core business is commercial insurance for middle-market companies — property and casualty, workers' compensation, professional liability, management liability, cyber and specialty lines — alongside group employee benefits (health, life, disability) and a personal lines practice for high-net-worth individuals and families. Heffernan has also built specialty practices serving particular niches, including nonprofit organizations, healthcare, real estate, technology, agriculture and wineries, reflecting California's regional economy. The firm markets itself on independent advice, local service teams and the resources of a larger brokerage, and it has expanded through acquisitions of smaller agencies and books of business. Ownership is private and largely employee- and management-aligned, which the firm presents as a source of independence from carrier or Wall Street pressure. Heffernan is consistently ranked among the larger US independent insurance agencies in industry listings. Its brand positioning centers on being a trusted, relationship-driven advisor for mid-sized organizations rather than a low-cost transactional channel.
History
Heffernan Insurance Brokers was founded in 1988 by F. Michael Heffernan in the San Francisco Bay Area, starting as a small independent agency focused on commercial accounts. Over the following decades the firm expanded organically and through acquisitions of local agencies and books of business, building a multi-office footprint across California and into other Western and national markets. A defining feature of its growth was the development of specialty practice groups. Rather than competing purely on price in commodity small-commercial lines, Heffernan organized teams around industries prominent in its home region — nonprofit organizations, healthcare providers, real estate and construction, technology companies, agriculture and wineries — and around employee benefits, which became a substantial part of the business as employers consolidated health and benefits advisory with property-casualty relationships. The firm also built a personal insurance practice serving affluent households, and invested in risk management and claims advocacy capabilities to differentiate its service model. It remained privately held and independent, a stance it markets as allowing it to place business with whichever carriers best fit a client rather than being tied to a single insurer. By the 2010s and 2020s Heffernan was regularly listed among the largest independent insurance agencies in the United States in industry rankings, and it continued to make selective acquisitions to add talent and geographic reach. The company's brand identity rests on that combination: the scale and technical resources of a large brokerage delivered through regional offices and named relationship teams.
- 1988
Founded by F. Michael Heffernan in the San Francisco Bay Area as an independent insurance agency.
Expanded through acquisitions of local agencies and books of business into a multi-office brokerage.
Built specialty practice groups for nonprofit, healthcare, real estate, technology and agriculture/wine clients.
Regularly ranked among the largest independent insurance agencies in the United States.
Products and positioning
Independent, relationship-driven advisory brokerage for middle-market businesses and high-net-worth individuals, emphasizing local service backed by large-broker resources.
Commercial property & casualty
Workers' compensation
Professional liability / management liability
Cyber insurance
Group employee benefits
Personal lines for high-net-worth clients
Risk management and claims advocacy
Recent events
Reported
Heffernan Insurance Brokers acquires Kristin Manwaring Insurance Associates[2]
Heffernan Insurance Brokers acquired the assets of Kristin Manwaring Insurance Associates, Inc. (KMi), an independent insurance agency based in Port Townsend, Washington; Kristin Manwaring and her team joined Heffernan effective May 1, 2026.
Reported
Heffernan Insurance Brokers acquires Kristin Manwaring Insurance Associates[3]
Heffernan Insurance Brokers, a Walnut Creek, California-based independent brokerage, acquired the assets of Kristin Manwaring Insurance Associates, Inc. (KMi) of Port Townsend, Washington effective May 1, 2026. Manwaring and her team joined Heffernan on that date, and no financial terms were disclosed.
Reported
Heffernan Insurance Brokers acquired twentytwenty Insurance Services[4]
Heffernan Insurance Brokers acquired twentytwenty Insurance Services; twentytwenty founder and CEO Sima Reid and her team joined Heffernan's new Cypress office, effective October 1, 2021.
Reported
Heffernan acquired Archbold and Father Insurance Associates[5]
Heffernan Insurance Brokers acquired Archbold and Father Insurance Associates, an insurance agency located in Santa Rosa, California, effective September 1, 2021.
Reported
Heffernan acquires Micor Insurance Brokers[6]
Heffernan Insurance Brokers acquired Micor Insurance Brokers, whose president and team joined Heffernan effective February 1, 2021.
Reported
Heffernan Insurance Brokers acquires Truckee Community Insurance Services[7]
Heffernan Insurance Brokers acquired Truckee Community Insurance Services. Truckee Community Insurance Services’ CEO and team members joined Heffernan’s new Truckee office effective December 1, 2020.
Reported
Heffernan acquires ISU Centinel Agency assets[8]
Heffernan Insurance Brokers acquired the assets of San Francisco-based ISU Centinel Agency to join its retail operations, effective September 1, 2020. The agency team joined Heffernan's San Francisco branch.
Reported
Heffernan Insurance Brokers announced a partnership with altumAI[9]
Heffernan Insurance Brokers announced a partnership with altumAI, the company behind the futureWork worker health and safety technology platform.
Reported
Heffernan Insurance Brokers acquires Contractors Insurance NW assets[10]
Heffernan Insurance Brokers acquired the assets of Olympia, Washington-based Contractors Insurance NW, which joined HeffDirect, a division of Heffernan, effective May 1, 2020.
- Unconfirmed
Reported
Heffernan acquires Henderson Insurance assets[11]
Heffernan Insurance Brokers purchased the assets of Henderson Insurance. Henderson's team was to join HeffDirect, a division of Heffernan, effective December 1, 2019.
Sources12 sources
- 1Heffernan Insurance Brokers official websiteheffins.com
- 2Heffernan Insurance Brokers 收购 Kristin Manwaring Insurance Associatesprnewswire.com
- 3Heffernan Insurance Brokers 收购 Kristin Manwaring Insurance Associatesinsurancebusinessmag.com
- 4Heffernan Insurance Brokers收购twentytwenty Insurance Servicesprnewswire.com
- 5Heffernan 收购 Archbold and Father Insurance Associatesprnewswire.com
- 6Heffernan 收购 Micor Insurance Brokersprnewswire.com
- 7Heffernan Insurance Brokers收购Truckee Community Insurance Servicesprnewswire.com
- 8Heffernan收购ISU Centinel Agency资产prnewswire.com
- 9Heffernan Insurance Brokers宣布与altumAI建立合作关系prnewswire.com
- 10Heffernan Insurance Brokers收购Contractors Insurance NW资产prnewswire.com
- 11Heffernan 收购 Henderson Insurance 资产insurancebusinessmag.com
- 12Heffernan Insurance Brokers 收购 Henderson Insurance 资产prnewswire.com
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