Insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher made five acquisitions in a busy month for M&A activity.

AJG says it acquired:

• Coyle Insurance Agency in Peoria, Ill., a property and casualty agency founded in 1984.
• Unison, Inc. in Minnetonka, Minn., an employee benefits firm founded in 1980.
• Park Row Associates in Providence, R.I., an employee benefits firm founded in 1994.
• IBIS Advisors, an employee benefits and compensation consulting firm established in 1997 and based in Los Angeles.
• Aires Consulting Group, Inc., headquartered in Batavia, Ill., founded in 1985, a licensed professional architectural and engineering firm providing consulting services.

Chicago-based Hub International Ltd., announced two acquisitions:

• Wescom Insurance Services LLC in Anaheim, Calif.
• Mahoney Group of Phoenix, Ariz.

Other acquisitions announced during the month of October:

• Short Hills, N.J.-based Bollinger acquired The Morville Agency of Newton, N.J.
• New York-based Preferred Concepts, a national program administrator and specialty broker acquired Metro Insurance Services of New Jersey.
• Towers Watson of New York acquired DaVinci Consulting Group.
• Markel Corp. acquired Essentia Insurance Co. from OneBeacon Insurance Group. The acquisition is expected to be completed in January.