Joining a number of tri-county insurance firms involved in mergers and acquisitions this year, Neovia Integrated Insurance Services in Santa Barbara was acquired by San Francisco-based firm Woodruff-Sawyer & Co.

The acquisition, announced on Dec. 1, will allow Woodruff-Sawyer to add employee benefits, property-casualty and management liability expertise to Neovia’s client base across Southern California, the company said. It will strategically position Woodruff-Sawyer for significant future growth.

One or two Neovia employees will remain in the Santa Barbara area, but the nearest Woodruff-Sawyer office will be in Pasadena, a Neovia employee told the Business Times. Neovia is based in Pasadena.

“For the past three decades, Neovia’s focus has been on managing our clients’ costs while helping their employees navigate the health care system,” Neovia CEO Jeff Slay said in a news release. “Joining the Woodruff-Sawyer team combines our resources and talents, which better positions us to deliver the very best service for our clients in today’s ever-changing health care environment.”

In other insurance acquisitions, Chicago-based HUB International Insurance Services acquired Riviera Insurance Services in Santa Barbara, Hub announced on Nov. 1.

The Leavitt Group purchased a majority stake in Santa Maria’s Murray and Murray Insurance Agency on Oct. 26 and Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. acquired Hogan Insurance Services in Westlake in May.

• Contact Alex Kacik at akacik@pacbiztimes.com.