Who We Are

It was your entrepreneurial spirit that grew your agency to where it is today. We understand deciding who to partner with for the future is an enormously personal decision.

We know because we’ve been there.

What began as a true American success story has evolved into a rapidly growing network of agencies.

Our founder, Richard Braun started Choice Insurance Agency from zero, with his own balance sheet.

What began as a career in wanting to make certain his clients have the right tools to protect their financial freedom has extended to wanting other brokers like him to preserve their legacies by joining like-minded agencies who, with the right tools, can take on the Goliaths of the industry with more nimbleness and personalized attention

Two men discussing prospective partnerships with a blue gradient
A hand writing in a red notebook using a red choice insurance agency branded pen
Northlane capital partners logo

Trusted Growth Acumen & Capital Support

Choice Financial Group is a leading insurance agency with institutional capital support from Northlane Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm managing more than $1 billion of committed equity capital. 

Bob Hilb serves as Senior Advisor to the Choice Financial Group on behalf of Northlane Capital. The founder of The Hilb Group, Bob brings with him experience leading more than 60 merger and acquisitions, and the growth acumen that served to take The Hilb Group from zero to $600 million in just seven years. Bob works directly with our partners to ensure Choice is leveraging its assets to follow in those same footsteps.

Leaders

Richard Braun President

Richard Braun
President

Bob Hilb Head of M&A

Bob Hilb
Head of M&A

Shawn McArdle Chief Financial Officer

Shawn McArdle
Chief Financial Officer

Meet Our Team

Tom Freridge VP Strategic Relations

Tom Freridge
VP Strategic Relations

Millie Wilson VP of Administration

Millie Wilson
VP of Administration

Elizabeth Grimes VP Marketing

Elizabeth Grimes
VP Marketing

Kimie Porter VP of Human Resources

Kimie Porter
VP of Human Resources

Our trusted advice begins with your first conversation.

Founder Richard Braun's Story

There aren’t many responsibilities in a brokerage that Richard Braun hasn’t filled since starting his first insurance firm, The Braun Agency, a Nationwide exclusive agency, in 1998. Richard expanded his business one policy at a time during the first several years as the last “scratch” agency that Nationwide appointed in southeast Virginia.

When Nationwide changed its distribution model, Richard merged The Braun Agency with an independent agency, Choice Insurance Agency, and launched Choice Financial Group in 2020.

Richard believes that the way forward for Choice and other like-minded agencies is to grow through partnership, in order to share resources and best practices and leverage technology and carrier relationships. Through the scale of partnership, partners are able to provide superior client experiences and achieve the highest levels of success in the marketplace.

Today, Richard is proud that Choice Financial Group is on track to be a top 100 agency in the United States by the end of 2022 and in the top 50 by the end of 2023.

Richard’s focus on his goals stems from his desire to help others. “I love being an entrepreneur and building a business, I love innovating and helping others be successful. To me, that’s what growing a business is all about. It’s a journey of helping other people and building something bigger than myself.”

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