BANGOR — Cross Insurance announced on Friday it has acquired Skillings Shaw & Associations, a specialty bond agency in Lewiston.

The acquisition is the latest in a string of acquisitions Cross Financial Corp., Cross Insurance’s parent company, has made recently.

“As we look ahead and plan for the future growth of Cross Financial Corp., we see the acquisition of Skillings Shaw & Associates as an integral expansion of our surety bond business line. Having a surety-bond only agency provides distinct advantages in the marketplace,” Royce Cross, CEO of Cross Insurance, said in a statement.

Skillings Shaw & Associates will continue to operate as an independent subsidiary of Cross Financial Corp., Cross Insurance’s parent company, Robert Shaw, the company’s co-founder, said in a statement.

“For me, the decision to sell the agency had much to do with continuity and succession,” said Shaw, who has run the agency on his own since the retirement of co-founder Dave Skillings in 2001.

Shaw continued: “Cross Insurance is a great fit for Skillings Shaw. The Cross family has a strong work ethic, deep family business tradition, and a multigenerational understanding of the insurance and surety bond business.”

Cross Insurance, founded in 1954, has acquired nearly 100 insurance agencies in the past 50 years, expanding its reach throughout New England.


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