Jones & Mitchell Inc., a longtime Spokane insurance brokerage, says it has sold its assets to Missoula, Mont.-based Western States Insurance Inc.


The Spokane brokerage, located at 123 E. Second, now is operating as a branch office of the Montana company, under the name Western States Jones & Mitchell, says Jim Brown, former president and part owner of Jones & Mitchell and now branch manager here for Western States. The asset sale closed March 1, but word of it wasnt released until recently.


Western States has retained all of Jones & Mitchells 20 employees, and is looking to hire two more people here, Brown says. Before the transaction, Western States employed four people at an office at 505 N. Argonne, and its moving those employees to the 6,000-square-foot space Jones & Mitchell occupies on Second.


Western States now has 28 branches in the Northwest, a total of 380 employees, and $50 million in annual revenues, Brown says. The company, which is on a steep growth mode, is looking to acquire other agencies in this region, he says.


The owners of Jones & Mitchell, which has been operating here since 1910, decided to sell the assets of the company partly because Western States can provide needed resources for the operation, such as internal education and training and information-technology equipment, Brown says. The operation here also has picked up additional insurance carriers as a result of the sale.


Western States Jones & Mitchell offers full lines of commercial and personal insurance products, as well as a full line of employee-benefits products.