The previously announced purchase of Wisconsin-based insurer General Casualty, its U.S. holding company, and sister company Unigard Insurance Group (Bellevue, Wash.) by Australia-based QBE Insurance Group was completed May 31st.
QBE, based in Australia, announced completion of the $1.16 billion transaction with Paris-based AXA Group after all regulatory approvals were secured. The acquisition, originally announced in January, involves the U.S. affiliates formerly owned by the Swiss-based Winterthur Insurance Group, which AXA purchased last year.
In a separate transaction also completed yesterday, QBE acquired the Praetorian Financial Group, a specialty insurer in New York.
“Our management team, our employees and our agents are excited about joining the QBE family,” said John Pollock, president and CEO of the newly named, Sun Prairie-based QBE Regional Insurance (formerly Winterthur U.S. Holdings, Inc.), a division of QBE the Americas. “Our foundation of 1,800 community-based independent agencies, 33-state reach and business infrastructure helps QBE expand into the super-regional property and casualty market.”
These acquisitions complete QBE’s focused diversification strategy of creating four pillars within QBE the Americas: Specialty Insurance, Regional Insurance, Reinsurance and Latin America.
“We are delighted to have achieved a timely and successful closing of the Winterthur U.S. Holdings and Praetorian acquisitions,” said Tim Kenny, president and CEO of QBE the Americas. “General Casualty and Unigard and their strong independent agency base greatly expand our share of the mainstream property and casualty market in the U.S. The operation’s infrastructure will also provide significant processing and technology benefits for us.”
The U.S. operations, now part of QBE the Americas, will form the core of the QBE Regional Insurance division. General Casualty and Unigard will continue to operate under their well-established brand names. The companies will adopt QBE’s logo and corporate color. Agents and policyholders can expect a seamless transition, and the companies do not anticipate any leadership or staff changes as a result of the acquisition.
Source: QBE
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