Insurance marketing firm Libra Insurance Partners has announced a merger with Insurance Designers of America (IDA) to create a combined entity.   

The new entity, said to be the largest independent marketing organisation (IMO) for life insurance in the US in terms of gross annual production, will function under the Libra brand.

The deal was approved by the boards of both the firms along with over 110 affiliated partner agencies.

Under the terms of the agreement, all LIBRA-affiliated partners will be able to access IDA’s team, distribution network, technology offerings along with advisor resources.

The merger will also add 50 agency partnerships to the Libra community.

Meanwhile, IDA president and executive director J Craig Collins will serve as executive vice president and chief relations officer in charge of carrier partnerships and agency services.

The new company will provide life, annuity and linked benefit insurance solutions to its partner agencies, independent insurance producers, brokers and financial institutions.

Following completion of the transition process, the merger will come to effect on 1 January 2023.

Libra president and CEO William Shelow said: “This merger uniquely positions Libra as a leader in the IMO community, both in size and influence, and through our combined teams and collective value-driven service models, proprietary tools, and leading resources, positions us as the premier partner for agencies, carriers, financial advisors and consumers now and into the future.”

Collins said: “We’ve worked alongside Libra for many years. I have tremendous respect for the leadership team and its agency partners. “Our firms are aligned in values and commitment and with many synergistic and complementary offerings, we can now leverage those strengths to offer even more robust benefits for our partner firms, their distribution sources, and insurance company partners.”