Senior Market Sales® , one of the industry’s premier insurance marketing organizations, has acquired The Buckley Insurance Group, LLC, a successful family-owned senior health and wealth planning agency licensed in 37 states and serving a strong client base in the tristate area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
“Since SMS started working with The Buckley Insurance Group 12 years ago, we’ve been impressed with the drive and dedication of owners Derick and Kerri Buckley to serve their clients,” said SMS President Jim Summers. “As we continue to expand the SMS family of businesses through strategic acquisitions, the Buckleys exemplify the type of company SMS is seeking. They are highly successful, want to grow even more, and share our culture of putting clients first.”
Derick S. Buckley started The Buckley Insurance Group in 2009 in Brick, New Jersey, after 13 years working in financial services on Wall Street in New York City, London and Hong Kong. After losing 17 friends in the terrorist attacks of 9/11, he decided to change paths and discovered the daily struggles that seniors face understanding Medicare, overpaying for insurance and planning for retirement. The company helps seniors with an extensive menu of products and services, including Medicare, health and life insurance and retirement planning.
The Buckleys said they wanted to join SMS to provide their employees benefits, to access tools and resources that will keep them competitive in today’s rapidly consolidating insurance industry, and to ensure that their clients continue to get the high level of care they deliver. The business will continue to operate under the Buckleys with their staff and no disruption to clients. SMS’ partnership in 2020 with Alliant Insurance Services, one of the nation’s largest insurance and employee benefits consulting firms, made the union even more appealing because of the expanded resources, they said.
“We get a lot of reviews and referrals because our clients are happy with us, and we feel like this partnership is only going to enhance what we can do for them,” Kerri Buckley said. “The deciding factor for us was that Senior Market Sales holds similar values to us – a family atmosphere, they put clients first and have the same work ethic. We trust them 100%. I always feel like SMS has our back, and it really does feel like a family.”
Derick Buckley credits SMS for helping him learn the business when he started and for facilitating his acquisition of another business in 2020 that helped the company expand.
“They’ve changed our lives – financially and through relationships,” he said. “It just gives us peace of mind knowing that everything we’ve built for the last 12 years will be in good hands.”
Buckley Insurance Group also will continue to access SMS’ proprietary technology, industry-leading back-office support, proven marketing systems and a comprehensive product portfolio of health and wealth solutions from top carriers.
“Our strategy is not to take over businesses,” Summers said. “Rather, it’s to give them the resources to keep growing and to help even more seniors get the health and wealth planning they need and deserve. It’s an exciting time to join the SMS family.”