Business Moves

The Doctors Co., FPIC

Medical liability insurer The Doctors Co. completed its previously-announced acquisition of FPIC Insurance Group Inc., a major provider of health care liability insurance in Florida, Texas, Georgia and Arkansas.

FPIC Insurance Group includes First Professionals Insurance Co., Inc.; Advocate, MD; Intermed; and Anesthesiologists Professional Assurance Co. With the completion of the merger and the addition of 18,000 insureds, The Doctors Co. said it solidifies its position as the nation’s largest insurer of physician and surgeon medical liability, with 71,000 member physicians.

FPIC will function as a subsidiary of The Doctors Co., and its operations are being integrated with the company’s existing operations. The company will maintain FPIC’s offices, including its Jacksonville, Florida, headquarters, and Advocate, MD’s office in Austin, Texas.

Markel, WI Holdings

Markel Corp.’s subsidiary Markel Ventures purchased a majority interest in WI Holdings, a Pennsylvania-based manufacturing firm. The details of the transaction were not disclosed.

WI Holdings is a privately held company based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with a division in Gainesville, Texas. The company manufactures, leases and sells high-pressure tube trailers, certified ISO containers and other gas and liquid containers to industrial gas manufacturers, distributors and specialty chemical companies. Markel Ventures is a subsidiary of Markel, a p/c insurance holding company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

Allstate, Esurance, Answer Financial

The Allstate Corp. said it obtained all required regulatory approvals and closed its acquisition of Esurance and Answer Financial from White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd. Allstate first announced the deal in May. The purchase price was around $1 billion.

Esurance provides personal auto insurance direct to consumers online and through select agents, including sister company Answer Financial.

Allstate said that in the coming months, the Esurance management team “will work to enhance its operational and marketing effectiveness by leveraging Allstate’s brand, pricing expertise and claims capabilities.” Allstate will maintain the current headquarters of Esurance in San Francisco and Answer Financial in Los Angeles. These operations will be reported in the Allstate Protection reporting segment.

Swiss Re

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions’ aviation unit is expanding operations in the North American general aviation (GA) market. It launched a New York-based underwriting team dedicated to developing its GA portfolio across the United States. Swiss Re Corporate Solutions is a Swiss Re unit that offers risk management and financing and insurance services.

AutoOne, Interboro

As AutoOne auto insurance company transitions from one owner to another, employees can expect to face a number of changes, including some likely downsizing, according to officials.

In August, its previous parent company OneBeacon Insurance Group, announced it is selling the unit to Interboro Holdings Inc. of New York. The deal is expected to be completed before the end of 2011.

AutoOne insurance company and its AutoOne Select division have 103 employees in Melville and 35 employees in Syracuse. “I think it is likely, given the current status of the company, that there would be some downsizing,” said Interboro CEO David Nichols.

Topics Texas