Business Moves

INAMAR, ACE Recreational Marine

ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operating division of the ACE Group of Companies, announced that INAMAR, its marine marketing and underwriting division, will now be known as ACE Recreational Marine Insurance. This change in brand name will allow ACE USA to present a consistent name on all agent and customer-facing communications, Web sites and policy documents, according to the company.

The rebranding will not result in servicing or product changes, the company said.

Arthur J. Gallagher, Yanni Partners

Large insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has agreed to acquire Yanni Partners Inc. of Pittsburgh, Pa. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close before Jan. 31, 2008.

Founded in 1989, Yanni Partners is an institutional investment consulting firm whose specialization includes Taft-Hartley Plans, public funds, health care organizations, endowments/foundations, religious organizations and public corporations.

Theresa Scotti, Frank Domeisen and the staff will continue to operate at the current Pittsburgh location under the direction of Michael J. DiCenso, national practice leader of Gallagher Retirement Services, a division of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s employee benefits brokerage operation.

Peerless Insurance

Liberty Mutual Group announced that one of its companies — Keene, N.H.-based Peerless Insurance — intends to return to the Massachusetts private passenger auto insurance market next year after a 20-year absence.

Peerless Insurance is expected to file rates on or after Feb. 15, 2008, and plans to begin offering auto and home insurance through independent agents in the second quarter of next year.

Peerless already sells commercial insurance in the state through about 150 independent agent locations. In 2006 the company wrote approximately $70 million in commercial insurance premiums in Massachusetts.

Peerless is the first insurer to announce plans to enter the state to write auto insurance since Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Nonnie S. Burnes introduced managed competition. In 1988, Peerless Insurance became the first of many companies to stop issuing new and renewal policies in Massachusetts because of what it then deemed the state’s malfunctioning auto insurance system.

The state currently has 19 insurers writing private passenger auto policies.

The Peerless announcement came in the same week that Liberty Mutual also announced it was boosting its Bay State direct sales force by 50 percent to handle auto insurance business.

Northeast Bank, Spence & Matthews

Northeast Bank Insurance Group Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Lewiston, Me.-based Northeast Bank, has agreed to purchase Spence & Mathews Insurance. The deal is slated to close on November 30, 2007.

Founded in 1935, Spence & Mathews has 16 employees located in two offices, both in Berwick, Me. and Rochester, N.H. The agency represents 14 state and national carriers, has an estimated $10 million in premium and serves more than 6,000 clients, according to the firms.

Northeast Bank Insurance Group also recently completed the acquisition of the Hartford Agency in Lewiston. This deal once completed will give bank’s insurance group 13 offices throughout western, central and now southern Maine and New Hampshire.

Marquis Agency, Lucas & Dake

The Marquis Agency of Woodbridge, N.J., acquired Lucas & Dake Co. Inc. of Rochester, N.Y. The new agency will be called Marquis Lucas Dake. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Marquis Agency offers insurance services for architects and engineers, accountants, real estate professionals and lawyers. Founded in 1907, Lucas & Dake has specialized in professional liability brokerage and risk management since 1975. The firm also offers a professional liability program for Certified Public Accountants, underwritten by CAMICO Mutual Insurance Co. The program is endorsed by the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.

USI, Treadwell & Harry

USI Holdings Corp., out of Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., has completed the acquisition of Memphis, Tenn.-based Treadwell & Harry Insurance LLC. Treadwell & Harry will be combined with USI’s existing Memphis operation.

Topics Massachusetts A.J. Gallagher