Business Moves – Midwest

Neace Lukens, Matrix Benefits

Neace Lukens has completed its acquisition of Matrix Benefits and Consulting Group, a Ft. Wayne, Ind.-based consulting firm.

Matrix employees will report to the Neace Lukens Indianapolis office under the supervision of Eric Chelovitz, Neace Lukens managing director.

Louisville, Ky.-based Neace Lukens, founded in 1991, has more than 150 licensed agents and more than 600 employees operating in 22 offices in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee, Arizona, Georgia, Arkansas, Florida and South Carolina.

McGowan Cos., Allied Insurance Brokers

The McGowan Cos. (McGowan), based in Fairview Park, Ohio, purchased the assets of Allied Insurance Brokers Inc. (Allied). Allied, which is headquartered in Marriottsville, Md., will operate under the “McGowan Program Administrators” brand.

Founded in 1996, Allied is a managing general underwriter specializing in writing package programs for commercial real estate, apartments, condominium associations and religious organizations.

McGowan Program Administrators is an MGU that manages umbrella and D&O programs for commercial real estate, apartments and condominiums.

All Allied brokers will receive automatic appointments with McGowan and its products.

Arthur J. Gallagher, Schiff, Kreidler-Shell

Itasca, Ill.-based Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. acquired Schiff, Kreidler-Shell Insurance and Risk Services headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Schiff, Kreidler-Shell Insurance and Risk Services is a retail insurance brokerage providing property/casualty, employee benefits and risk management insurance and consulting services throughout the central United States. It specializes in the construction, agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare and financial service industries as well as cultural and social service non-profit organizations.

Schiff, Kreidler-Shell head Thomas R. Dietz and his colleagues will continue to operate from their Cincinnati and Edgewood, Ky. locations as Gallagher SKS under the direction of Thomas J. Gallagher, head of Gallagher’s Midwest retail property/casualty brokerage operations.

Flexpoint Ford, GeoVera

Chicago, Ill.-based Flexpoint Ford LLC, a private equity firm focused on the financial services and healthcare sectors, announced its affiliates have signed a definitive agreement to acquire Fairfield, Calif.-based GeoVera Insurance Group Holdings Ltd. from affiliates of Hellman & Friedman LLC and Friedman Fleischer & Lowe LLC.

The deal is expected to close this summer.

GeoVera is a provider of specialty residential property insurance. Since its formation in 1995, the company has been underwriting insurance products with a focus on markets that are underserved by other carriers. GeoVera’s primary products include residential earthquake insurance in the Western United States and homeowners insurance in wind-exposed areas in the Southeast United States and Hawaii.

Following the close of the transaction, GeoVera will continue to operate as an independent company.

Western National Mutual, Dynamic Insurance Group, American Freedom Insurance

Western National Mutual Insurance Co., based in Edina, Minn., has closed on the purchase of 100 percent of the stock of Arlington Heights, Ill.-based Dynamic Insurance Group, parent holding company of American Freedom Insurance Co.

American Freedom Insurance will operate independently as a separate entity writing non-standard automobile coverage in Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania, under the management and control of Western National and with its full financial support.

The management team of Frank Phelan and Larry Sullivan will continue to lead American Freedom, together with all of the existing staff, in their current offices in Illinois, as they have been doing for the last 14 years.

Stuart Henderson, president and chief executive officer of Western National, commented that American Freedom’s “specialty book of business complements the similar expansion of the Group in non-standard auto in the Southwest and California, adding a new profit center to the diversified portfolio of Western National.”

Western National Insurance Group is a super-regional property/casualty insurance group writing more than $315 million in direct premium in 14 states.

American Freedom Insurance writes more than $16 million of non-standard personal auto in Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania. The company also sells its products exclusively through professional independent agents.

Philo Smith & Co. served as sole financial advisor to Western National on this transaction.

USI Insurance Services, National Insurance Specialists

USI Insurance Services announced it has closed on the acquisition of certain assets of Toledo, Ohio-based National Insurance Specialists (NIS).

The acquisition is expected to contribute approximately $1.6 million in revenues to USI on an annual basis. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquired entity will be integrated into USI Affinity, a division of USI Insurance Services. The transaction makes USI Affinity the number one equipment rental industry insurance broker in the country, according to the announcement.

Doug W. Kreitzberg, CEO of USI Affinity, noted that USI and NIS have many years of combined experience handling rental industry accounts.

Nationwide Mutual, Harleysville Mutual

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. has completed its previously announced $834 million merger deal with Harleysville Mutual Insurance Co.

The deal was first announced in September 2011. Nationwide Mutual policyholders voted to approve the merger on April 9. Harleysville Mutual policyholders and Harleysville Group stockholders approved it on April 24.

Harleysville Mutual policyholders will become policyholders and members of Nationwide Mutual.

Nationwide Mutual acquired all of the publicly held shares of common stock of Harleysville Group, a publicly traded subsidiary of Harleysville Mutual, for $60 per share in cash.

Harleysville is now a part of Nationwide’s property/casualty independent agency business unit under the Harleysville brand.

Additionally, Harleysville’s current headquarters in Harleysville, Penn., will serve as an integral part of the combined company’s national, independent agency-based platform.

Michael Browne, the former president and chief executive officer of Harleysville, is now the president and chief operating officer of the Harleysville unit of Nationwide.

Oak Street Funding, OPTIS Partners

Oak Street Funding, headquartered in Carmel, Ind., announced a new strategic partnership with Chicago-based merger and acquisition specialists, OPTIS Partners LLC.

The partnership provides new funding options to OPTIS clients who need capital to buy, build or sell their agencies.

Since 2005, OPTIS has represented more than 50 buyers and sellers transactions ranging in value from $500,000 to more than $25,000,000.

Topics USA Agencies Ohio Illinois Property A.J. Gallagher Property Casualty