Business Moves

Aspen Re

Bermuda-based Aspen Reinsurance, the reinsurance segment of Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd., has formed Rock Re, a new dedicated brokered property facultative unit within its U.S. operation.

Rock Re will build on Aspen Re’s existing direct property facultative offering in the United States and will focus on the North American brokered property facultative marketplace.

The new unit will be led by Russ Wagner, senior vice president and manager of Rock Re, with Jim Connors joining the team from Montpelier Re as vice president, assistant manager and Andrew Lombardo as assistant vice president. The team will be located in Rocky Hill, Conn., and report to Mike Sowa, managing director, North America for Aspen Re.

Integro, Doodson Broking Group

New York-based insurance brokerage and risk management firm Integro has acquired Doodson Broking Group, a U.K.-based entertainment and sports specialist that also provides full-service commercial and private client broking services.

Doodson Broking Group was established in 1964 in Manchester. It has additional U.K. offices in London and Halifax, as well as a U.S. office in Austin, Texas. Integro said the Doodson deal would help the firm’s annualized revenue to surpass $150 million.

Integro said the current Doodson management team, led by Neil Clayton with the support of James Dodds and David Leech in the United Kingdom, and Roger Sandau in the United States, will remain in place.

Imperial Management Corp., National Automotive Insurance

Imperial Management Corp. (IMC) agreed to purchase National Automotive Insurance Co. (NAIC) headquartered in Metairie, La.

The transaction is pending approval of the Louisiana Department of Insurance and is expected to close the first week of November 2013.

NAIC provides non-standard personal auto insurance to consumers through independent agents across Louisiana, with a heavy concentration of policyholders in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The company currently serves more than 12,000 policyholders.

Imperial, located in St. Landry Parish, has a long history of serving policyholders in Louisiana through its subsidiary Imperial Fire & Casualty Insurance Co.

Stephen C. Schrempp will continue in his position as president of NAIC. Imperial’s CEO Marc Carter will serve as CEO, and Duane Heady will be chief operating officer.

Based in Louisiana, Imperial is 100 percent owned by Southport Insurance Holdings, a New York City-based private equity and asset management firm. Imperial Management’s largest subsidiary, Imperial Fire and Casualty, is rated B+ by A.M. Best and provides personal auto, personal property and flood policies.

The company actively writes policies in Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, and is licensed in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, South Carolina and West Virginia. Imperial Management Corp. is also parent to wholly owned subsidiaries ABC Insurance Agencies and RAC Insurance Partners.

RHP Management, Republic Group

Dallas-based Republic Group announced that RHP Management LLC will acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Republic subsidiaries Republic Home Protectors Inc. (RHP) and Southern Vanguard Insurance Co. (SVIC).

Under the terms of the agreement, the sale would include the business produced through RHP and written by SVIC, but would exclude all other business written by SVIC through reinsurance arrangements entered into at closing that will remain in effect until all other business is renewed into affiliates of Republic.

The transaction has been approved by the boards of Republic and the members of RHP Management and Omena Partners LLC and is expected to close in Q1 2014. Completion of the transaction is subject to certain conditions, including financing and customary regulatory approvals.

Upon completion, the RHP business will continue to be managed by Terry Cotter, president of RHP, under the new name of RHP Managers LLC. The company’s headquarters will remain in Houston.

Joe Mattingly, Republic’s president and CEO, stated that the proposed sale “allows management to focus on our core regional company operations, reduce exposure concentrations and free up capital that strengthens our balance sheet.”

State Farm

State Farm Insurance Co. plans to build a national operations center in the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the facility will be built on a nearly four-acre site at Hammond Drive and Perimeter Center Parkway.

City officials said the site will serve as the heart of Bloomington, Ill.-based State Farm’s Perimeter corporate campus.

The announcement did not say how many jobs would be created, when construction would begin or other details.

Topics USA Louisiana