Business Moves

AIG

American International Group has signed an agreement to sell its prime real estate holding in Tokyo for approximately $1.2 billion to Nippon Life Insurance Co. The property includes approximately one acre of land on which The AIG Otemachi Building in Tokyo is situated. The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter. AIG says the address is one of the most coveted in central Tokyo’s downtown business district.

The Hartford

The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., according to Reuters, has to plans to sell its U.S. P/C and life businesses, after winning approval last week to tap $3.4 billion of federal bailout funds.

Chief Executive Ramani Ayer announced the decision in a memo to employees, after the insurer had reviewed its strategy in light of “significant pressures” on some businesses. The Hartford lost $1.21 billion in the first quarter, its third straight quarterly loss. The Hartford also plans to emphasize P/C group benefits and life insurance businesses, and also operate wealth management and retirement businesses.

Brown & Brown/Irving Weber

Brown & Brown, Inc. has agreed to acquire a Long Island-based insurance agency, Irving Weber and Associates. With annual revenue of approximately $4 million, Irving Weber specializes in insurance programs for the fabricare industry, which is comprised of drycleaners, linen supply, uniform rental and commercial laundry operations. Irving Weber also offers programs for other industries and has retail insurance agency operations.

After the closing, Adam Weber, president, and his staff will continue to operate in the Long Island location in Ronkonkoma, New York, and will continue to operate under the Irving Weber Associates name.

Florida-based Brown & Brown, Inc. is one of the largest independent insurance agencies in the United States.

Safety National

Safety National has opened regional underwriting office in New York in a move the company builds on its plans to bring underwriting capabilities closer to customers by adding regional offices in major cities across the country. Safety National plans to open additional regional offices in the next two years.

Northeast Bank/Goodrich

Northeast Bank Insurance Group has expanded its presence in Southern Maine, adding Goodrich Insurance Associates of Berwick to the list of eight agencies the bank has acquired in the last two years.

Goodrich has merged with neighboring Spence & Mathews as part of the Lewiston-based Northeast Bank umbrella. Goodrich has approximately $1.7 million in premium volume and operates with three employees who will all continue to work for Northeast, handling property and casualty insurance as well as commercial lines for the Berwick and surrounding markets.

The Goodrich agency employees will relocate in September to their new offices at Spence & Mathews, also in Berwick.

Navigators

The Navigators Group Inc. has opened a Pittsburgh office of Navigators Management Co. Inc., its principal underwriting agency subsidiary. The office will serve western Pennsylvania, western Maryland, Ohio and West Virginia and will initially be staffed with underwriters handling Directors & Officers liability, Excess Casualty, and middle market property casualty products, coordinating with underwriters in other Navigators offices to access products including Environmental Casualty, Marine insurance, Onshore Energy, Life Sciences and other specialty products.

Plymouth Rock

Boston-based auto insurer Plymouth Rock Assurance has launched a new program that will allow any Massachusetts driver to receive free e-mail reminders 30 days before their license renewals, registration renewals and annual auto inspections. This program expands Plymouth Rock’s eServices email reminder program, which was previously available only to its customers. The company says the reminders are particularly valuable since the state no longer mails reminders of license renewal dates to Massachusetts” drivers.

Topics AIG