Latest Mergers & Acquisitions Headlines

All the headlines from our Mergers & Acquisitions Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Completes Residential Loss Control Acquisition

Oct 13 2011 // Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd announced that following regulatory approval from the Colorado and Hawaii Departments of Insurance, it has completed the acquisition of Residential Loss Control Holdings, LLC (RLCH), which...

Bell-Anderson Agency in Washington Acquires Unico

Oct 11 2011 // Renton, Wash.-based Bell-Anderson Agency Inc. has acquired Unico Insurance of Woodinville, Wash. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Bell-Anderson will continue to pursue acquisition opportunities as they...

Confie Seguros Enters Florida Market, Buys Trustway Agencies

Oct 11 2011 // Confie Seguros, a group of insurance agencies targeting Hispanic customers, has acquired the Miami, Florida-based Trustway Insurance Agencies. Founded in 1998, Trustway has 28 locations in the state and additional offices...

Concordis to Acquire Advance Underwriting Managers

Oct 11 2011 // Destin, Fla.-based financial holding company Concordis Group Inc. has agreed to acquire Advance Underwriting Managers. Advance Underwriting Managers will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Concordis Group. AUM is based in...

Allstate Closes on $1 Billion Acquisition of Esurance, Answer Financial

Oct 7 2011 // The Allstate Corp. said it has obtained all required regulatory approvals and closed its acquisition of Esurance and Answer Financial from White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd. The purchase price was approximately $1...

Atlantic Specialty Lines Acquires Financial Guarantee, American Tri-State Underwriters

Oct 7 2011 // Atlantic Specialty Lines Inc. (ASL) announced it has acquired Financial Guarantee Underwriters Inc. and American Tri-State Underwriters Inc. Financial Guarantee Underwriters has been servicing the surplus insurance needs...

Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires S. A. Freerks & Associates

Oct 7 2011 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced it has acquired S. A. Freerks & Associates Inc., headquartered in St. Louis, Mo. Founded in 1979, S. A. Freerks & Associates (SAFA) is a managing general agent and wholesale...

Holmes Murphy & Associates Acquires Bridge Insurance Partners

Oct 5 2011 // Holmes Murphy & Associates, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, has acquired Dallas-based Bridge Insurance Partners LLC. The team of seven from Bridge Insurance Partners led by Jeff Turner joined the organization on the...

The Hartford Plans Staff Cuts; Sells Subrogation Services Unit Trumbull

Oct 5 2011 // The Hartford Financial Services Group said it is expecting to implement a small staff reduction in coming months as part of its ongoing effort to streamline operations. The company didn’t specify exactly how many...

Towers Watson Acquires N.Y. Investment Advisory Firm

Oct 5 2011 // Global professional services company Towers Watson has purchased WellsCanning, a Valhalla, N.Y.-based investment advisory firm specializing in the insurance industry. WellsCanning principals and consulting staff have...

LexisNexis Insurance Exchange Buys MarshBerry Sales Portal

Oct 3 2011 // LexisNexis Risk Solutions has acquired the Sales Portal from MarshBerry, the insurance consulting and merger and acquisition advisory firm. The Sales Portal is a sales management automation tool used by larger brokerages...

Burns & Wilcox Acquires South Carolina Wholesale Broker

Oct 3 2011 // Wholesale broker Burns & Wilcox has purchased Kimbrell Insurance Group Inc., a wholesale broker and underwriting manager in South Carolina. Kimbrell was founded in 1986 and is located in the Myrtle Beach, S.C. area....

The Financial Side of Acquisitions

Oct 3 2011 // The merger and acquisition trend of agencies continues, despite the turndown in the economy. One reason for this trend is that publicly traded firms and those run by investment companies need to show growth despite...

Wells Fargo’s Insurance Unit Buys Reno Firm

Sep 30 2011 // The insurance unit of Wells Fargo & Co. has purchased ISU Stetson-Beemer Insurance, an insurance brokerage and consulting firm in Reno, Nev. The purchase closed on Sept. 1. Terms of the deal were not...

Berkshire Hathaway to Buy N.J.-based Princeton Insurance

Sep 30 2011 // Berkshire Hathaway’s medical professional liability insurance unit, Medical Protective Co., is purchasing New Jersey-based Princeton Insurance Co., a professional liability insurer for healthcare providers. Princeton...

Nationwide, Harleysville CEOs Reassure Agents: Merger All About Growth

Sep 30 2011 // The merger of insurer Nationwide Mutual with regional carrier Harleysville Mutual is all about growth, not only for the companies but also for their independent agents, according to the CEOs of the two...

Nationwide and Harleysville Insurance Agree to Merger; Analysts Respond

Sep 29 2011 // Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. and Harleysville Insurance announced on Thursday, Sept. 29, that they have agreed to a merger. Nationwide Mutual will acquire Harleysville Group for $760 million. Nationwide Mutual will pay...

SNL Buys Summit Media’s Financial Information Unit, Highline Data

Sep 28 2011 // Summit Business Media has sold its insurance financial information unit. Another financial information firm, SNL Financial, said it has acquired the Summit Business Media insurance information services unit, Highline Data,...

BB&T Expands in Baltimore Area, Acquires Atlantic Risk Management

Sep 28 2011 // Insurance broker BB&T Insurance Services is acquiring Atlantic Risk Management Corp. of Columbia, Maryland. The move allows BB&T Insurance Services to expand to the metro Baltimore area. The transaction is expected...

FEMA Again Urges At-risk Communities to Buy Flood Insurance

Sep 28 2011 // Last month’s Hurricane Irene was a rude awakening for many East coast residents and businesses that reminded them the importance of flood insurance. Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administer the National...