Business Moves

AIG, Arch Capital

American International Group (AIG) has completed the $3.4 billion sale of its mortgage guaranty unit to Arch Capital Group. The deal to sell United Guaranty Corp. closed on December 31.

AIG has been reorganizing and streamlining in part to fend off pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn to break up the insurer.

AIG has said it will continue to be a participant in the residential real estate market through direct ownership of mortgage loans, a portfolio of structured securities, the holding of Arch stock and continued ties to United Guaranty.

United Guaranty, based in Greensboro, N.C., has about 1,000 employees.

Arch said it will maintain a significant presence in that state while retaining mortgage-insurance operations in California. International business will be combined in Europe, Hong Kong and Australia.

UGC had $186.4 billion of first-lien primary mortgage insurance in force as of Sept. 30, with 1,000 employees and active relationships with nearly 1,700 customers, according to AIG.

The deal is valued at $3.4 billion including $2.2 billion in cash and the rest in Arch securities, AIG said. AIG said it is retaining a portion of mortgage-insurance business originated from 2014 through 2016 through a intra-company risk transfer deal.

David Gansberg, president and CEO of Arch U.S., is responsible for U.S. primary mortgage insurance operations, which will be headquartered in Greensboro, with significant operations in California.

The Andrew Agency, Wallace & Wallace

The Andrew Agency, a Richmond, Va., headquartered insurance broker, has acquired Wallace & Wallace, a Cabin John, Md.-based provider of commercial and personal lines property and casualty insurance for high net worth clients. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

With this acquisition, The Andrew Agency plans to expand its footprint into Maryland and Washington D.C. Employees of Wallace & Wallace will join The Andrew Agency team, which will operate under its existing name.

The Andrew Agency is pursuing continued growth through targeted acquisitions of specialized property and casualty agencies throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

Cook Maran & Associates, Mintz, Girgan & Brightly Inc.

Cook Maran & Associates (Cook Maran), a New York and New Jersey-based insurance broker, has acquired Mintz, Girgan & Brightly Inc. (MGB), a privately owned Rochelle Park, N.J., headquartered agency.

The MGB team will join Cook Maran, expanding regional resources and expertise, backed by the national insurance distribution platform Prime Risk Partners (PRP).

MGB will continue to do business as Mintz, Girgan & Brightly for the near term, and executive and account staff will continue in their current roles.

The pending partnership serves to further affirm PRP’s strategy of expansion through acquisitions. In addition to Cook Maran, it acquired Indianapolis-based ONI Risk Partners as a primary Midwestern platform in 2016.

Hub International Ltd., Hubbard-Bert Inc.

Global insurance brokerage Hub International Ltd. (Hub), headquartered in Chicago, has acquired the assets of Hubbard-Bert Inc. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Based in Erie, Pa., Hubbard-Bert specializes in employee benefits. Hubbard-Bert’s leadership team of David Ciacchini, Joe Kelly and Mark Salvia will join Hub’s wholly owned affiliate, The HDH Group Inc. (Hub HDH), and report to Tony Kocis, president of Hub HDH, following the acquisition.

Additionally, Hubbard-Bert’s BAI and Wealth Management and Pension Services lines of business were included as part of the acquisition. BAI offers full-service third-party administrator services, specializing in COBRA administration, spending accounts, dental, vision and ACA reporting. Wealth Management and Pension Services offers retirement and financial planning services.

Assurant Inc., Green Tree Insurance Agency

Global risk management products and services provider, Assurant Inc., announced an agreement to acquire Green Tree Insurance Agency Inc., which has offices in Minnesota and South Dakota.

Assurant is buying Green Tree from a wholly owned subsidiary of Walter Investment Management Corp. (Walter) for $125 million in cash with a potential earnout of up to $25 million, based on future performance.

Green Tree Insurance Agency sells housing protection products, including voluntary homeowners’ and manufactured housing policies, and other insurance products. Assurant expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2017, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory approval.

As of Sept. 30, 2016, Green Tree Insurance Agency and the affiliated entities Assurant is acquiring in this transaction reported revenues for the nine months of approximately $31 million.

Assurant expects the acquisition to improve margins on the existing block of business and generate roughly $25 million of incremental annualized net earned premium and fee income in 2017, with the opportunity to grow the business.

Green Tree Insurance Agency, with offices in Rapid City, S.D., and St. Paul, Minn., will be an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Assurant.

RightSure Insurance, American Cornerstone

RightSure Insurance Group has acquired Chandler, Ariz.-based American Cornerstone.

The purchase of American Cornerstone represents RightSure’s 10th book of business acquisition.

American Cornerstone offers a variety of insurance products, including home, renters, motorcycle and RV.

Tucson, Ariz.-based RightSure is licensed to sell personal, commercial and life insurance products in 42 states.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Gruppo Marcucci

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired the Chicago-based consulting firm, Gruppo Marcucci LLC (GPM).

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2005, Gruppo Marcucci specializes in human resources (HR) and benefits technology solutions for benefit brokers and consultants, employers, insurance carriers, service providers and the investment community.

Led by partners Rhonda Marcucci and Ed Barry, the Gruppo Marcucci team will continue to operate from its current location under the direction of Tony Hernandez, Gallagher’s employee benefit consulting and brokerage chief operating officer.

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

JLT Re, Risk & Re-Insurance Solutions

JLT Re has acquired Risk & Re-Insurance Solutions Corp (RRiSC), a reinsurance intermediary specializing in casualty treaty business based in Miami.

RRiSC was established by Anthony Mirabal in 2001. RRiSC will form part of JLT Re (North America) Inc.

According to Ed Hochberg, CEO of JLT Re (North America) Inc., the RRiSC team will enable JLT Re to expand its treaty business further into the key markets of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, as well as increase its presence in the Latin American region.

The RRiSC team, led by Mirabal, will join JLT Re immediately.

In addition to RRiSC’s established client base in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, the RRiSC team will leverage the relationship between JLT Re and other JLT Group businesses operating in Latin America to grow its business.

Baldwin Risk Partners, Ryan Insurance & Financial Services

Baldwin Risk Partners (BRP), an insurance distribution holding company based in Tampa, Fla., has partnered with Ryan Insurance & Financial Services, a Deland, Fla.-based independent insurance agency.

The partnership with Ryan will bring in a substantial amount of support for continued growth. The partnership was finalized on Jan. 4, 2017.

Ryan offers insurance products to individuals and businesses. BRP manages resources and capital to fuel organic growth and acquisitive growth in the insurance industry. The companies said the partnership “will open up new opportunities in the industry.”

BRP member companies include Baldwin Krystyn Sherman Partners, The Villages Insurance Partners, Medicare Insurance Partners, American Risk Partners, and Florida Medicare Options.

Ryan Insurance & Financial Services, Inc. was started in October 1998 by the principal, Sean D. Ryan. The firm has focused on serving the insurance and financial service needs of their customers in the greater Volusia County and surrounding markets.

R&Q, PacWest

Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings Ltd. announced the novation of liabilities for policy years 2001 to 2011 from Arizona-domiciled PacWest Captive Insurance Company Inc. to its segregated account company in Bermuda, R&Q Quest Ltd.

PacWest was formed in 2001 by Leavitt Group Enterprises to provide workers’ compensation coverage written by Leavitt-owned agencies. These policies were fronted by The Hartford and have been in runoff since June 30, 2011. Reserves for the policy years being novated were estimated at $4.4 million on Aug. 31, 2016.

R&Q is a Bermuda-based company listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market.

Confie, Auto Insurance

Confie has acquired Auto Insurance America from Western National Mutual Insurance Co.

Auto Insurance America is a provider of nonstandard auto insurance serving Nevada and New Mexico. The company has five locations in Las Vegas, one in Reno, Nev., and four locations in Albuquerque.

Western National Insurance Group is headquartered in Edina, Minn., and is a super-regional property/casualty insurance group writing in 19 states, plus surety in an additional seven states.

K2, Alteris

K2 Insurance Services LLC has acquired the WaterPlus, FirePlus and JPA in-force expirations from San Francisco-based Alteris Insurance Services Inc.

San Diego, Calif.-based K2 was formed to acquire managing general agencies and specialty program administrators and underwriters.

Alteris Inc. and Alteris Insurance Services Inc., members of Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd, operate a full-service managing general agency.

Topics A.J. Gallagher AIG