TrueNorth Companies of Des Moines told workers today that they work under a new name, Bearence Management Group. The change is more than in name only, with the insurance brokerage on a search to acquire companies in the Midwest cities where it has offices as well as other parts of the country, President Dave Schwartz said.

Bearence is a word “we’re still looking to define,” Schwartz said, but it obviously toys with definitions of “bear” and “bearing.”

“We’ve grown dramatically over the last three years in Des Moines and feel our new name more accurately reflects our overall vision of redefining risk,” Chairman and CEO Joe Teeling said.

The company launched a new Web site, www.bearance.com, at 10 a.m. today after a meeting with employees to reveal the new name and discuss the company’s future.

TrueNorth of Des Moines was formed in 2005 after Schwartz, Teeling and Dennis Johnson left senior positions at then-troubled Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. to create the brokerage, which at the time was affiliated with Cedar Rapids-based TrueNorth Cos. LLC.

Bearence will continue to have an “arm’s-length partnership” with the Cedar Rapids company, Schwartz said. Bearence also has offices in Davenport, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Minneapolis and Nashville, Tenn.

Schwartz said the company is close to acquiring a firm in Minneapolis and hopes to close on two to three acquisitions over the next 90 to 120 days. In addition, Bearence could look beyond its core operations in the Midwest to Dallas and Phoenix, he said.