Wholesaler CRC Insurance Acquires Competitor Southern Risk of S.C.

CRC Insurance Services Inc., the wholesale insurance subsidiary of BB&T Corp., reports it has completed a purchase of Southern Risk Operations LLC.

Sumter, S.C.-based Southern Risk is an excess and surplus (E&S) insurance broker that specializes in high-risk personal and commercial properties along the East Coast.

The 18-year-old company also operates branch offices in Miami, Marlton, N.J., Concord, N.H., and Timonium, Md., through its Horan Goldman subsidiary. Horan Goldman was founded in 1963.

Terms were not disclosed.

Birmingham-based CRC reported approximately $3 billion in premiums in 2007. Southern Risk will operate as a division of CRC managing general agency Southern Cross Underwriters.

“In our continuing quest to become a complete excess and surplus lines broker, the addition of Southern Risk to the CRC team is an important move that will certainly boost our presence in the managing general agent segment of the industry,” said Tom Curtin, chief executive officer of CRC.

“They bring a wealth of experience and provide a great complement to the wholesale and managing general underwriter segments that already exist at CRC.”

Southern Risk Operations was founded in 1990 by Jim Mayes, the company’s president. It has 78 employees.

Southern Risk’s specialty lines include commercial transportation, property and liability, marine, and professional coverage for directors and officers.

CRC acquired Jackson, Miss.-based Southern Cross Underwriters in 2003.

Founded in 1976, the CRC division specializes in small- and middle-market accounts, including property and casualty coverage for coastal homeowners and marine exposures.

CRC has 26 offices and 865 employees across the country. It was acquired by BB&T in 2002.

With $136.5 billion in assets, Winston-Salem, N.C.-based BB&T Corp
is the nation’s 14th largest financial holding company.

Source: BB&T Corp.

http://www.bbt.com