BOARDMAN Sky Insurance plans to expand since taking over local agency

THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO
BOARDMAN -- A local insurance agency plans to expand now that it has been acquired by Sky Financial Group.
Insurance Buyers' Service Agency will retain its 14 employees and add more as it moves into new products, such as employee benefits, said James Lang, agency president.
The agency will need to offer more complete services because it will be representing Sky Insurance in the area, he said.
Business should increase because Sky Bank, which is owned by Bowling Green-based Sky Financial, will refer banking customers with insurance needs to the local agency, Lang said. Also, Sky Insurance represents more insurance companies than Insurance Buyers' Service did.
Sky Insurance, also a subsidiary of Sky Financial, has a strong presence in western Ohio but had no offices in the Mahoning Valley until the acquisition, which was announced Tuesday.
Sky Insurance handles about $400 million in premiums a year, while Insurance Buyers' Service handles about $15 million.
Sky is exchanging an undisclosed amount of its stock for all the stock of Insurance Buyers' Service. Lang was the local agency's majority owner with James Keating, James Sutman and Edward Hassay as minority owners.
All of the Insurance Buyers' Service owners are remaining with the office, and Lang will be senior vice president of Sky Insurance.
Lang bought the agency in 1972, when it was called Gluck Insurance Agency. The business traces its roots back to 1932. Lang changed the name of the business in 1995.