By ANNEMARIE FRANCZYK
Business First

Freed Maxick & Battaglia CPAs PC has sold its third-party administration (TPA) service to the Lawley insurance and benefits company.

The TPA had been offered to Freed Maxick clients for about seven years, but it wasn't a firm focus. It was a stand-alone unit that had not been fully integrated into the accounting firm and was never expanded, according to Managing Partner Robert Glaser.

"We couldn't do what Lawley can do to take it and grow it," Glaser said.

At the time of the sale, the TPA served 50 employers with about 8,000 workers, mostly in Western New York, he said. The two employees who processed claims for the TPA have been hired by Lawley. The sale became official Oct. 1.

Under Freed Maxick, the TPA handled expenses from employee cafeteria plans in which participants deposited pre-tax dollars into an account to pay for health-related services not covered by insurance, such as dental care.

Lawley officials said they view the TPA as a potential growth area and immediately began expanding it to customers in its Buffalo home base and offices in Rochester, Syracuse and the New York City area.

"This is the direction the market is going," said Brian Murphy, a partner in Lawley's benefits group. "From a service standpoint, it's another potential growth area."

Lawley is the second-largest insurance agency in the region, with 2006 premium volume of $334.2 million, according to the Business First Book of Lists.

It recently announced a rebranding initiative that unified the many divisions and locations under the Lawley name.