Insuritas, a provider of outsourced insurance agencies, said it has signed on MIDFLORIDA Credit Union to open an insurance agency for the financial institution.

The East Windsor, Conn.-based Insuritas said it will deliver its platform and Web-based online agency capabilities to the $1.9 billion MIDFLORIDA in Lakeland, Fla.

“We recognized that 100% of our members purchase insurance from someone every year and we asked ourselves a simple question: 'Can we help our members buy the insurance they need?'” said Dennis Pershing, chief lending officer of MIDFLORIDA.

By creating an “insurance aisle,” Pershing said it will afford the credit union the opportunity to own an insurance agency and leverage its lending and online banking to support the insurance needs of its 195,000 members.

MIDFLORIDA executives researched options for providing a turnkey insurance agency for its members including building a new agency from scratch, purchasing an existing agency, or hiring Insuritas, according to Insuritas. Given the large capital and execution risks with the first two options, management concluded that Insuritas was the solution, the company said.

“MIDFLORIDA is joining a rapidly growing list of financial institutions that have come to recognize the need to treat insurance with the same discipline and intensity that they do with deposit gathering and loan making,” said Jeff Chesky, president/CEO of Insuritas.