Bank of the West announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, BW Insurance Agency, Inc., (BWIA) has acquired Contractor’s Insurance Services, Inc., a full service insurance agency offering a variety of commercial and personal insurance lines. CIS specializes in providing insurance, risk management and asset protection services for the burgeoning building industry throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Founded in 1985 and based in the Portland suburb of Tualatin, CIS offers group health, life, auto, home, bond, liability and disability as well as Workers Compensation insurance and is licensed to write policies in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and South Carolina. CIS has specialists serving homebuilders and artisan contractors, garage, apartment or condominium owners, and restaurateurs. CIS is a market leader in providing general liability insurance for residential general contractors and artisan contractors as well as suppliers to the construction industry. “Contractor’s Insurance Services’ business philosophy is grounded in providing personal service and industry expertise and is a perfect match for BW Insurance Agency,â€? said Tom Anderson, president of BWIA. “This acquisition is a logical extension of BW Insurance Agency’s expansion into Bank of the West markets, giving us BWIA presence for the first time in the Pacific Northwest.â€? Both Oregon and Washington saw solid expansion in the number of construction and building sector jobs in 2005 and 2006 as a result of the housing boom. In 2005, one out of every six new jobs created in Washington was in construction. This transaction marks the eighth insurance agency acquired by BWIA since December 2005. BWIA today also announced the close of its acquisition of Omaha-based agency Nabity-Perry Insurance, Inc. BWIA in 2006 expanded into markets including Denver and Aurora, Colorado, Omaha, North Platte and Bellevue, Nebraska, St. Paul, Minnesota and Gillette, Wyoming.