Smith Petrie Carr & Scott

What Smith Petrie Carr & Scott does

Acera Insurance is a Canadian employee-owned insurance brokerage operating 70+ branches nationwide with 680+ employee owners. The company, whose legal name is reflected as Acera Insurance under the Smith Petrie Carr & Scott entity profile, is headquartered in Canada and was founded in 1969. Acera represents 100+ insurance carrier partners, functioning as an independent brokerage that matches customers with coverage across personal, commercial, and group benefits lines. Its product portfolio is broad, spanning auto insurance (standard, collector, luxury), recreational vehicles (motorcycle, boat, off-road, RV), home and property (standard, condo, luxury, landlord, tenant, seasonal), specialty property (equine, farm, firearms, cyber, pet, investment property, valuable collections), life and health (life, individual health/dental, critical illness, disability), travel (standard and adventure), and business/commercial coverage including course-of-construction and group benefits consulting. The company operates a premium sub-brand, Signature by Acera, providing custom coverage for high-value assets such as luxury homes, luxury autos, collector cars, and valuable collections.

Acera's business model is commission-based brokerage revenue: the firm earns carrier commissions by placing customers with appropriate policies from its 100+ partner network, rather than underwriting risk itself. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, determined by individual risk assessments with monthly billing cadence typical for personal lines. Distribution is omnichannel: 70+ physical branches across all Canadian provinces and territories provide in-person advisory, supplemented by a website quote-request system, the MyAcera App for policy management, and a social media presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. The go-to-market is sales-led with a strong local-expertise angle, targeting individual Canadians (primary), small-to-mid-sized businesses, and employers seeking group benefits. No publicly listed ticker, VC/PE ownership, or institutional investor structure is disclosed; the firm is employee-owned and is now under Navacord as its parent/strategic operating entity following a completed transformational merger deal.

The company has no disclosed AI/ML capabilities, no proprietary technology platform beyond standard brokerage tools and the MyAcera customer portal app, and no API or SDK offerings. Its competitive positioning rests on the employee-owned Canadian brand, the breadth of carrier partnerships, the physical branch network providing local advisory, and the specialty product depth (including niche lines like equine and firearms insurance) rather than on technology differentiation. Revenue figures, headcount growth rates, and financial performance metrics are not disclosed in the available source data.

Name

Smith Petrie Carr & Scott

Legal name

Acera Insurance

Website

https://spcs-ins.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Smith Petrie Carr & Scott operates as part of Acera Insurance, a Canadian employee-owned insurance brokerage with 70+ branches nationwide, 680+ employee owners, and 100+ carrier partners delivering personal, commercial, and group benefits coverage to individual Canadians and businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Insurance Brokerage

NAICS

Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (52421)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)

akta.pro primary industry

Retail (Personal Lines) Insurance Brokerage (FSAEADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Commercial Lines Insurance Brokerage (FSAEADAB), Specialty Insurance Brokerage (Marine, Aviation, Cyber, Professional Lines) (FSAEADAJ)

Keywords

• Insurance brokerage
• Personal insurance
• Commercial insurance
• Life insurance
• Group benefits

Headquarters

HQ city

Ottawa

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Insurance Brokerage Commissions: Acera Insurance operates as a brokerage earning commissions from multiple insurance carrier partners. They represent 100+ insurance partners and match customers with appropriate coverage from their partner network.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Smith Petrie Carr & Scott is a Canadian insurance brokerage operating under Acera Insurance, providing personal lines (auto, home, recreational vehicles, life, health, travel) and commercial lines (business property, course of construction, liability) insurance products. The firm matches customers with policies from a network of 100+ insurance carrier partners and operates through local branch offices staffed by employee owners.

Product overview

Acera Insurance offers a comprehensive insurance platform with a broad portfolio of personal and business insurance products. The core offering includes auto insurance (standard, collector car, and luxury auto), recreational vehicle coverage (motorcycles, boats, off-road vehicles, RVs), home and property insurance (standard, condo, luxury home, landlord, tenant, seasonal), specialty property coverage (equine, farm, firearms, cyber, pet, investment property, valuable collections), life and health insurance (life, individual health/dental, critical illness, disability), travel insurance (standard and adventure travel), and business insurance products. Signature by Acera serves as a premium sub-brand providing custom high-value asset coverage. The company operates as a Canadian-owned insurance brokerage with 70+ branches, 100+ insurance partners, and 680+ employee owners, offering personalized advice through a network of local branches.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Signature by Acera: Specialized service providing custom coverage for high-value assets.

Products and services

• Auto Insurance
• Collector Car Insurance
• Luxury Auto Insurance Premium coverage designed for high-end luxury vehicles with comprehensive protection.
• Motorcycle Insurance
• Boat Insurance
• Off-Road Vehicle Insurance
• RV, Motorhome & Trailer Insurance
• Home Insurance
• Condo Insurance
• Luxury Home Insurance
• Landlord Insurance
• Short Term Rental Insurance
• Tenant Insurance
• Equine Insurance
• Farm Insurance
• Cyber Insurance
• Pet Insurance
• Firearms Insurance
• Investment Property Insurance
• Seasonal Property Insurance
• Valuable & Collections Insurance
• Strata Deductible Insurance
• Life Insurance
• Individual Health and Dental Plans
• Critical Illness Insurance
• Disability Insurance
• Travel Insurance
• Adventure Travel Insurance
• Signature by Acera
• Business Insurance
• Course of Construction Insurance
• Group Benefits

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NavacordcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcera Insurance and Navacord completed a transformational deal to unite and provide Canadians with greater choice and insurance solutions. This partnership strengthens Acera's position in the Canadian insurance market.
• Insurance Carrier PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAcera Insurance represents 100+ insurance carrier partners, allowing them to shop coverage options across multiple insurers to find the right policy at competitive prices for customers.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Marsh Canada: Marsh is a global insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm with substantial Canadian operations. It competes for larger commercial accounts and specialty risk placements that Acera also targets through its specialty product lines.
• Hub International: Hub International is a large global insurance brokerage with significant Canadian operations across commercial and personal lines. As a broader incumbent, it offers overlapping capabilities and competes for the same mid-market commercial and group benefits accounts.
• TD Insurance (TD Meloche Monnex): TD Insurance is the insurance arm of TD Bank, offering personal lines products to TD customers in Canada. It competes directly with Acera for personal auto and home customers, leveraging cross-sell from banking relationships.
• Intact Financial Corporation: Intact is Canada's largest P&C insurer and a dominant carrier partner for many brokerages. Through its direct-to-consumer brands (e.g., belairdirect), it also competes with independent brokerages like Acera for retail personal lines customers.

Direct peers

• BrokerLink: BrokerLink is a major Canadian personal and commercial lines brokerage with hundreds of branches nationwide. It operates under a similar independent brokerage model with multi-carrier partnerships, directly competing for the same personal and small-business insurance customers.
• CAA Insurance (South Western Ontario): CAA Insurance sells auto and home coverage across Ontario and other provinces leveraging CAA membership. It competes head-to-head with Acera on personal lines and benefits from strong brand affinity among Canadian consumers.
• Cooperators Group: Cooperators is a Canadian-owned cooperative insurance and investment company offering personal, commercial, and farm insurance through a network of local advisors. Its mutual structure and community-based model parallel Acera's employee-ownership positioning.
• Westland Insurance Group: Westland Insurance is one of Canada's largest independent insurance brokerages with a multi-branch footprint across Western Canada, offering personal, commercial, and specialty lines—directly comparable to Acera/Smith Petrie Carr & Scott's independent brokerage model and product breadth.

Emerging players

• Sonnet Insurance: Sonnet is a Canadian digital-first insurance provider offering online home and auto quotes backed by Aviva. It represents the InsurTech threat to traditional branch-based brokerages, competing on speed and convenience rather than advisory relationships.

Others

• NAV Canada (insurance brokerage peers under Navacord): Navacord is the strategic partner platform that acquired Acera Insurance. As the parent platform, it also houses other Canadian insurance brokerages and risk management firms—comparable peer entities that operate under the same strategic umbrella and compete for talent and clients in the Canadian brokerage market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SPCSInsuranceBrokers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/acera-insurance/?originalSubdomain=ca
• Instagraminstagram.com/acera_insurance
• Xx.com/SPCSins

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smith Petrie Carr & Scott