Acrisure Sues Former Brokers Over Alleged Noncompete Violations After Move to Howden

In April 2026, Acrisure of California, LLC filed lawsuits in Michigan federal court against two former executives who resigned to join Howden U.S., alleging violations of noncompetition and nonsolicitation agreements tied to their prior business sales. The suits center on Stephan Plotzker and Hakop “Jack” Papazyan, both of whom sold their insurance agencies to Acrisure for undisclosed sums described in the filings as “millions of dollars.”

According to the complaint filed on April 15, 2026, Plotzker sold his firm, Bridgeport Insurance Brokers, to Acrisure in 2015. The following day after his resignation from Acrisure’s Grand Rapids office, Acrisure alleged he violated noncompete and customer nonsolicitation provisions of his employment agreement. Papazyan, who sold his agency, Gain Insurance Agency, to Acrisure in 2020, was sued on April 10, 2026 — five days after his resignation. Acrisure claims he breached both the purchase agreement and employment agreement with the company.

The lawsuits are part of a broader pattern of legal action by Acrisure against departing staff who joined Howden U.S., which announced on April 16, 2026 the hiring of Patrick Thomas, a former managing partner at Acrisure, to lead its national trucking business build-out. Approximately 35 other Acrisure employees are expected to join Thomas in the transition.

Howden, a London-based brokerage, established its U.S. Retail operation in 2025 and has since recruited hundreds of employees from competitors, prompting legal challenges from firms including Marsh, Alliant, and Brown & Brown. However, Howden was not named as a defendant in the Acrisure filings against Plotzker and Papazyan.

The cases are currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, with docket numbers reflecting the April 2026 filings. No settlements or rulings have been reported as of the date of this report.