Business Moves

National

Pathpoint

Pathpoint, a new brokerage for excess and surplus lines, is billing itself as an all-digital wholesale brokerage built from the ground up.

Pathpoint is licensed across the U.S. and is a coverholder at Lloyd’s of London. It distributes admitted and non-admitted products across multiple lines of business to U.S.-based retail agents.

The company connects retail agents and (excess and surplus lines) E&S carriers through its proprietary platform, which is built to quote and bind excess and surplus lines coverage in minutes.

Retail agents receive their commission for every risk bound on Pathpoint, and there is no cost for them to use the platform.

Carriers that have signed up include Westchester, Hiscox, Beazley and Crum & Forster.

Touran, Alex Bargmann and Jay Palekar started Pathpoint in 2017 while at HVF Labs, a startup incubator in San Francisco.

The formal launch for Pathpoint follows a soft launch that has been underway for several months involving several hundred agents in six states.

The soft launch, in turn, follows two years of development of a proprietary platform that enables the service. It also changed its name from Outline Risk. In some states, it is licensed under the name Outline Insurance.

The San Francisco firm has raised $6 million and is backed by SciFi VC, Founders Fund and Caffeinated Capital.

In January of this year, commercial lines platform Bold Penguin acquired xagent, a digital platform for the E&S business.

The offering from xagent connects agents to E&S insurance carriers, offering the ability to quote and bind policies with multiple carriers.

East

World Insurance Associates, Loveman, Kornreich & Steers

World Insurance Associates LLC (WIA) acquired Loveman, Kornreich & Steers Inc. of White Plains, N.Y., on July 1.

Loveman, Kornreich & Steers specializes in a multitude of insurance programs for businesses and individuals. The agency’s staff uses risk management to analyze the insurance programs of clients to best protect their assets and earnings against a variety of hazards.

WIA is headquartered in Tinton Falls, N.J., and is a full-service insurance brokerage providing asset and lifestyle protection with risk management, insurance and benefit consulting services for individuals and businesses.

Since its founding in 2012, WIA has completed 68 acquisitions and serves its customers from 53 offices in 13 states and Washington, DC.

Giordano, Haleran & Ciesla provided legal counsel to WIA, and legal counsel for Loveman, Kornreich & Steers Inc. was not disclosed. Manhattan Group advised Loveman, Kornreich & Steers Inc. on the transaction.

ICDC Ltd., NationsBuilders Insurance Co.

Following a previous announcement on June 5, Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings Ltd.’s wholly owned Vermont subsidiary, ICDC Ltd, has completed the acquisition of NationsBuilders Insurance Co. , a Washington D.C.-domiciled captive from NationsBuiders Insurance Services.

This marks R&Q’s third captive legacy acquisition in 2020, according to Paul Corver, group head of M&A at R&Q, in a company press release.

He added that R&Q expects to announce further legacy transactions before the end of the year.

R&Q is a non-life global specialty insurance company operating two businesses: Program Management and Legacy Insurance.

Legacy Insurance generates profits and capital extractions from management of legacy nonlife insurance portfolios. Program Management generates commission income from its licensed and rated carriers in the U.S., EU and the UK, writing niche program business, largely on behalf of reinsurers.

Jackson Sumner & Associates, Landers Underwriting

Jackson Sumner & Associates has acquired Landers Underwriting of Charlottesville, Va., in a deal inked earlier this month.

JSA is an excess and surplus broker that began in 1981 in Boone, N.C. It offers a range of insurance products including property, casualty, automobile, garage, professional liability, workers’ comp and personal lines.

Landers Underwriting was founded in 1988 as an independent, family-owned managing general agency licensed to write excess and surplus lines business across Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Founder and Principal Harry Landers announced his retirement with the deal.

JSA has hired Landers Principal and Underwriter Noah McMurray to remain in Charlottesville and continue to manage the commercial accounts in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. McMurray will report directly to JSA P&C Manager Kristel McNeil.

Midwest

First MainStreet Insurance, Brummel Madsen Insurance, The Engel Agency

First MainStreet Insurance L.C. (FMSI), an affiliate of TrueNorth Companies L.C., has acquired two Iowa agencies: Brummel Madsen Insurance in Cedar Falls and The Engel Agency in Maquoketa.

Brummel Madsen Insurance has been serving the Cedar Valley area since 1960. Brian Brummel, who joined his father’s agency in 1991, will remain a partner in this newest First MainStreet office. Former owners Scott Cessna and Steve Schomaker will also continue working with the FMSI team.

Bruce Engel, the second generation owner of The Engel Agency, plans to transition from the business. Agency Manager Jennifer Machande, who has been with Engel for more than 15 years, will be named partner.

With the addition of these new agencies, FMSI collectively welcomes more than 15 new colleagues and two new partners to the team.

South Central

CRC Group, Specialty Risk Associates

CRC Group has acquired Specialty Risk Associates Inc. in Shreveport, La.

The addition of Specialty Risk expands CRC Group’s binding, transportation binding and personal lines business. Specialty Risk Associates will be a part of CRC Group’s commercial solutions division.

During the coming months, the CRC and Specialty Risk teams will work to integrate their operations. Until then, the firm will operate under its current brand name with no changes to location or underwriter.

Specialty Risk Associates is a managing general agency and surplus line insurance broker that offers property and casualty insurance products. CRC Group is a wholesale distributor of specialty insurance products throughout the U.S.

G&G Independent Insurance, Arkansas Insurance Advisors

G&G Independent Insurance in Fayetteville, Ark., has acquired the Little Rock-based agency, Arkansas Insurance Advisors.

The transaction became effective on Sept. 25, 2020.

Founded in 2015, AIA is an independent insurance agency that focuses on ensuring clients have the proper insurance coverage at a competitive price in Central Arkansas. As a part of the transaction, AIA’s employees will join G&G’s operations and continue to work out of their existing location in Little Rock.

G&G Independent Insurance is a full service independent insurance agency located in Fayetteville, Ark. G&G was founded, and is operated, with a commitment to providing clients the best possible protection at the most affordable price.

G&G offers a wide variety of coverage including auto insurance, home insurance, motorcycle insurance, flood insurance, life insurance, commercial insurance and more.

NFP, Hutch Hubby & Associates

National insurance broker NFP has acquired the Austin, Texas-based employee benefits firm, Hutch Hubby & Associates.

The acquisition is NFP’s third in central Texas in 2020.

The firm’s principal, L. Hutch Hubby, brings NFP over 40 years of experience serving employers and executive leaders in the greater Austin market. Hubby joins NFP as vice president, reporting to Kevin Brown, managing director of NFP’s central Texas practice.

NFP provides specialized property and casualty, corporate benefits, retirement and individual solutions through its licensed subsidiaries and affiliates.

Southeast

Trean, 7710 Insurance Company

The wholly-owned subsidiary of Trean Insurance Group, Benchmark Holding Co. Inc., has completed the acquisition of South Carolina-based 7710 Insurance Company, as well as its associated program manager and agency.

7710 Insurance Company is a national workers’ compensation insurer for first responders. According to Andy O’Brien, TIG’s president and CEO, 7710 will aid the company in executing its growth strategy as it focuses on the underserved workers’ comp market for the emergency services industry.

7710 Insurance Company joins TIG’s other affiliated insurance companies American Liberty Insurance Company and Benchmark Insurance Company – both A.M. Best ‘A VIII’-rated carriers offering specialty property and casualty products in 49 states and D.C.

Trean Insurance Group Inc. provides products and services to the specialty insurance market.

Trean underwrites specialty casualty insurance products both through its program partners and its own managing general agencies.

Trean also provides its program partners with services including issuing carrier services, claims administration and reinsurance brokerage.

Trean is licensed to write business across 49 states and the District of Columbia.

West

Wholesale Trading Insurance Services, Landmark E&S

Wholesale Trading Insurance Services LLC and its parent company, Jencap LLC, have agreed to acquire privately held Landmark E&S Insurance Brokers LLC, an Anaheim, Calif.-based specialty wholesale brokerage firm.

Jencap is part of Galway Insurance Holdings, which was formed along with The Carlyle Group’s addition of EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants, earlier this year.

Wholesale Trading Insurance Services is a wholesale brokerage firm providing independent agents and brokers specialty insurance products from offices nationally. WTIS was formed in 2010 and was subsequently acquired by JenCap in 2016.

Landmark E&S Insurance Brokers was formed in 2015 by Canaan Crouch, Nancy Huynh and Doug Mangus, with a focus on serving retail brokers across the U.S. by providing expertise in environmental classes of business..