Main Street America Acquires Texas Surety Business from CAIC

Houston-based CAIC Holding Co.Inc. (CAIC) has sold its surety division to property/casualty insurance carrier The Main Street America Group, based in Jacksonville, Fla.

The firms said the agreement is effective Jan. 4, 2010. Terms were not disclosed.

Luis Bordes, CAIC president, said his company decided to withdraw from the Texas surety business to concentrate on expansion of its personal lines division.

Brian Beggs, Main Street America’s vice president of bonds, said Main Street America believes Texas provides solid growth opportunities for its surety business.

Two members of CAIC’s surety team have joined Main Street America to head up its surety operations in Texas. Sterling Emens will be Main Street America’s director of bond specialty underwriting and Veronica Rivera will be an agency development specialist. Both will be based in Houston.

Main Street America has been writing surety bonds since 1960. Main Street America has a bond capacity limit of up to $54 million per bond.

Main Street America entered the Texas property/casualty market in 2008 when it began providing assumed reinsurance for homeowners business through managing general agents.

Commercial Alliance Insurance Co. (CAIC), a division of CAIC Holding Co. Inc. CAIC is licensed in eight states, specializes in writing non-resident (Mexico), private passenger, commercial automobile, surety and Texas non-subscriber insurance since 1998. During 2009, CAIC expanded its product offerings to include personal lines insurance products, specifically non-standard auto and homeowners.

CAIC has assets of $25 million and is approved by the U.S. Department of Treasury to act as surety on federal projects.

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Texas