Business Moves

Widerman & Company, Smith Brothers Insurance

Widerman & Company Insurance of Haddonfield, N.J., has merged its business with Smith Brothers Insurance of Glastonbury, Conn.

This combination allows Widerman & Company the opportunity to maintain its local presence while leveraging the resources of Smith Brothers, according to a joint press release. Widerman has 20 employees. Smith Brothers has more than 150 employees and offices in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Following the merger, Widerman & Company will continue to operate at its current location in New Jersey and under the name Widerman & Company as an affiliate of Smith Brothers Insurance.

Bob Widerman will stay in client service, business development and expansion through Widerman & Company’s merger and acquisition strategy. Shawn Knechtel will be responsible for the executive leadership and strategic direction of growth as head of the New Jersey region. Widerman & Company’s service team will remain in its present location in New Jersey.

Heritage Insurance Holdings, NBIC Holdings Inc.

Heritage Insurance Holdings Inc., a Clearwater, Fla.-headquartered property/casualty insurance holding company, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire NBIC Holdings Inc., the parent company of Narragansett Bay Insurance Company (NBIC). NBIC is a Rhode Island-headquartered specialty underwriter of personal residential insurance products and services in states along the Eastern seaboard.

The purchase price for the acquisition will be $250 million, subject to post-closing adjustments. The acquisition will be financed with $210 million in cash and $40 million of Heritage’s common stock.

The cash component of the consideration will be financed, in part, with cash on hand, including proceeds from Heritage’s senior secured notes issued in December 2016. Heritage also intends to undertake, subject to market and other conditions, an offering of convertible senior notes coupled with a concurrent share repurchase.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Heritage and NBIC. The parties expect the transaction to close as soon as the fourth quarter of 2017, subject to customary closing conditions including required regulatory approvals.

“Completing this acquisition is the next critical step in executing our geographic diversification strategy,” said Heritage Chairman and CEO Bruce Lucas in a company press release. “Post-transaction, we expect approximately 45 percent of our revenue to be generated outside of Florida, and Florida Tri-County personal lines policies will represent only approximately 7 percent of all total insured value, further hedging against assignment of benefits volatility.”

Seeman Holtz P&C, Primera Capital, Agency Acquisitions

Boca Raton, Fla.-based Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty Inc. (Seeman Holtz P&C) has acquired Primera Capital, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Primera’s Anthony Davis and team have been offering both auto insurance and tax services to the Dallas area for over seven years.

Seeman Holtz P&C also acquired Agency Acquisitions LLC, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. Agency Acquisitions specializes in trucking insurance. Seeman Holtz said the acquisition will add a niche service to its portfolio and broaden its client reach throughout Texas.

With the addition of Agency Acquisitions, Seeman Holtz closed its 12th agency acquisition for 2017.

The Seeman Holtz family of companies provides comprehensive financial and insurance advice to clients across the country.

U.S. Risk, B&H Risk Services

Property/casualty insurance wholesaler U.S. Risk Insurance Group LLC has acquired B&H Risk Services Inc., a Dallas, Texas-based managing general agency and wholesale broker.

In the company’s announcement U.S. Risk CEO Randall Goss said “B&H has built a solid niche and proven their value to both their customers and their carriers for hard-to-write classes of business. This transaction is a further demonstration of our strategic focus on acquiring companies whose experience, resources and values complement our own.”

U.S. Risk Insurance Group operates 16 domestic and international branches.

RightSure Insurance, Arizona Economy Insurance

RightSure Insurance Group has acquired Tucson, Ariz.-based Arizona Economy Insurance. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Arizona Economy Insurance is an independent insurance agency.

Tucson, Ariz.-based RightSure is licensed to sell personal, commercial and life insurance products in 42 states. Arizona Economy is the firm’s 13th book of business acquisition.

Topics USA Texas New Jersey Arizona