Business Moves

September 22, 2014

Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management, Dezelan Insurance Agency

Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services Inc. has acquired Dezelan Insurance Agency located in Indianapolis.

Founded in 1927, Dezelan Insurance Agency is a retail insurance broker providing property/casualty and risk management consulting services. The firm offers coverage for commercial and personal lines clients throughout Indiana. The company specializes in the nonprofit, governmental, charter school and real estate industries.

Both Joe Dezelan and Marty Dezelan, as well as their colleagues, will operate under the direction of Michael Pesch, head of Gallagher’s Midwest retail property/casualty brokerage operations.

U.S. Risk Insurance Group

Dallas-based managing general agency and surplus lines wholesaler, U.S. Risk Insurance Group Inc., has opened a new office in Fort Worth, Texas. The new office is staffed with underwriters from the energy and commercial underwriting divisions of U.S. Risk.

Cason Burdett, program manager for the energy division, is branch manager for this new location and is looking forward to growing Fort Worth agency relationships.

The energy division writes general liability, umbrella and auto coverage for “land-based” oil and gas exploration, production and servicing accounts.

The commercial underwriting division writes property, liability and related lines of insurance for a variety of commercial risks.

The Fort Worth office is located at 801 Cherry Street, Suite 2365, Fort Worth, TX, 76102.

HGGC, MGA Pearl Holding

HGGC, a middle market private equity firm, has completed a majority investment in Pearl Holding Group, a managing general agent focused on the non-standard auto insurance market in Florida. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Pearl’s owners, Jared Perlin and Stacey Perlin Labell, will maintain a significant ownership stake and will continue running the business.

Headquartered in Sunrise in southern Florida, the family owned Pearl offers underwriting, policy management, claims processing and management as the managing general agent for Ocean Harbor Casualty Insurance Co., which is focused on personal injury protection and physical damage insurance.

Pearl manages more than $100 million in net premiums working with 400 independent insurance agencies to insure 70,000 policyholders.

HGGC is a Palo Alto, Calif.-based middle market private equity firm with $1.1 billion in committed capital under management.

Pearl is HGGC’s first investment in the insurance sector. However, the company says two managing partners at HGGC, Greg Benson and Gary Crittenden, have insurance experience.

Propel, Assurety Northwest

Pacific Northwest-based agency Propel Insurance has acquired Assurety Northwest.

Assurety principals Jeff Bieker and Bryan Ludwick will join Propel as partners in the company’s newly expanded space in downtown Portland, Ore.

Propel is a privately owned agency that provides property/casualty, risk management, workers’ compensation, employee benefits, personal insurance and other products.

Arthur J. Gallagher, Everett James

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Everett James Inc. located in Ridgefield, Conn. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Everett James Inc.’s Robert McDonald, Steve Rinaldi and their associates will continue to operate in their current location under the direction of David Ziegler, head of Gallagher’s Eastern employee benefit consulting and brokerage operations.

Everett James offers employee benefits consulting and brokerage services primarily for its large and middle-market clients in the Northeast. The company specializes in group health and welfare consulting for private and public entity organizations, with an emphasis on planning, design, implementation, cost containment and plan administration services.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., an international insurance brokerage and risk management services firm, is headquartered in Itasca, Ill., and has operations in 30 countries.

Ion, Drescher Insurance

Ion Insurance Corp., an insurance agency based in Naugatuck, Conn., has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Drescher Insurance Agency in Chester, Conn. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Drescher Insurance Agency was founded in 2003. All seven of the firm’s employees will join Ion Insurance, increasing the size of Ion’s staff to about 20, according to the announcement.

Ion Insurance, an affiliate of Ion Bank in Naugatuck, is a full-service independent insurance agency. Both Ion Insurance and Ion Bank are part of a mutual holding company, Ion Financial. Ion Insurance has been providing insurance services to business and personal customers since 1915.

Topics USA A.J. Gallagher

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