Business Moves

Barger and Wolen

Barger & Wolen LLP, a Los Angeles-based law firm specializing in insurance regulatory, general business and litigation matters, has opened an office in Phoenix to be managed by Charles Cohen, former director of the Arizona Department of Insurance. Robert Hogeboom, senior regulatory counsel, said the Phoenix office will provide counsel in connection with regulatory and litigation issues affecting the property/casualty and life and health insurance industries.

Cohen, who joined Barger & Wolen LLP as a partner in January, served as Arizona director of insurance from 1988 to 2003. His practice includes all aspects of insurance regulation, including market conduct examinations and compliance, rate and policy form matters, corporate and financial transactions, reinsurance approvals and disputes, state health insurance and compliance, insurer and insurance professional licensing, insurance producer investigations and disciplinary matters, insurance fraud investigations and captive insurer formation.

Cohen will also provide counsel on insurance matters in the states of Nevada and Utah. One of his initial areas will involve the formation of and counsel to Arizona and Nevada captives.

Cohen joins Barger & Wolen LLP as the third former insurance commissioner along with Richards D. Barger, co-founder of the firm, and Roxanni Gillespie, who served as California Insurance Commissioner from 1987 through 1990.

Meadowbrook Insurance Group

Meadowbrook Insurance Group Inc. has hired the team of insurance professionals from Nevada CompFirst Inc. and Med West Inc. of Nevada to strengthen its presence in the state’s self-insured workers’ compensation market.

NCF and Med West are led by Leslie Bell. As president of the Nevada Self Insurance Association, Bell has worked on legislative and regulatory issues. The 25 employees of the two operations join Meadowbrook as associates immediately.

NCF is a Nevada-based third-party administrator which specializes in workers’ comp claims services for self-insured groups and individual self-insured programs throughout Nevada. Med West manages a preferred provider organization (PPO), provides nurse case management and medical bill re-pricing services. NCF and Med West have offices in Reno and Las Vegas.

“This new venture fits precisely into our corporate strategy to grow our fee-based revenue,” commented Robert Cubbin, president and CEO of Meadowbrook Insurance Group. “The addition of NCF and Med West further strengthens our product and service offerings and affirms our dedication to the Nevada marketplace.”

Meadowbrook is a program-based risk management company, specializing in alternative risk management solutions for agents, brokers, and insureds. For information, visit www.meadowbrook.com.

John B. Collins Associates

John B. Collins Associates Inc., an independent reinsurance broker, has opened a new office in California’s Orange County to serve Southern California insurers. The new office is Collins’ eleventh overall.

The office will help to service existing clients and expand the company’s production efforts, said president and CEO Pat Denzer. Heath Fisher, senior vice president, has been named manager of the office. Fisher joined Collins in its San Francisco office in February 2000. His previous experience was with reinsurance broker E.W. Blanch Co., where he worked in a similar capacity since 1997.

The office is located at 5000 Birch Street, Suite 3000, Newport Beach, CA 92660. Phone: (949) 475-6843. For more information, visit www.collins.com.

ABD Insurance and Financial Services

California-based ABD Insurance & Financial Services has been named the leading directors and officers liability insurance broker in the United States, according to the 2005 Tillinghast-Towers Perrin D&O Survey.

ABD achieved a 24.2 percent market share as the primary retail broker for the accounts surveyed-finishing ahead of its nearest competitor by nearly 5 percent. A provider of global insurance, risk management and employee benefits solutions, ABD has been ranked by Tillinghast as one of the country’s top three D&O brokers for each of the past six years, according to the company.

ABD placed No. 1 in a majority of the business classes covered in the survey and is ranked among the top three brokers in all but two of the classifications (durable goods and utilities).

The Technology and Biotech & Pharmaceutical sectors are among the largest industry segments represented in the survey.

The annual Tillinghast-Towers Perrin Survey presents market share for retail brokers based on the number of accounts for which they serve as primary D&O broker. There were 2,645 U.S. participants in the 2005 survey, covering 15 major industry classifications.

Topics California Arizona Nevada