View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2014/05/22/329829.htm
Brown & Brown Inc. said it has completed its acquisition of specialty and flood insurance company The Wright Insurance Group, LLC.
In January, Florida-based national insurance broker Brown & Brown said it would acquire TWIG for $602.5 million from Aquiline Capital Partners, Wright’s lead equity partner.
TWIG, with $114 million in revenues, is a fee-based specialty insurance services company that underwrites and administers property/casualty risks through three distinct segments: Wright Flood, program services servicing reciprocals and self-insured groups, and managing general agent services. It is the largest provider involved in the federal flood insurance program.
B&B has acquired 100 percent of the membership interests of TWIG and its subsidiaries, with the exception of WRM America Indemnity Co. of Uniondale, N.Y., which serves the education market.
TWIG subsidiaries acquired include: Wright Risk Management Co., LLC; Wright Specialty Insurance Agency, LLC; Wright Risk Consulting, LLC, Wright Program Management, LLC, Wright National Flood Insurance Services, LLC, and Wright National Flood Insurance Co.
Wright’s operations will become part of Brown & Brown’s National Programs Division.
The firms said in January that Wright’s current leadership team will remain in place and will continue to operate from offices in Uniondale and Albany, New York, and St. Petersburg, Florida.
Wright’s public entity/program services/specialty operations in New York will report to Tony Grippa, regional vice president, and Wright’s flood program operations will report to Chris Walker, regional executive vice president.
The total net consideration paid for the ownership interests of Wright was $602.5 million. This amount is comprised of cash payments of $587.5 million for the program business, $7.5 million for Wright National Flood Insurance Co. (WNFIC) and $7.5 million for WNFIC statutory surplus, according to Brown & Brown.
The transaction was a cash acquisition and not subject to financing conditions.
Following the announcement of the deal closing, ratings agency A.M. Best affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” of Wright National Flood Insurance Co. (WNFIC). The outlook assigned to both ratings is stable.
A.M. Best said its ratings of WNFIC reflect its adequate risk-adjusted capitalization and relatively favorable operating results, as well as governmental support. Offsetting these positive rating factors are the potential concentration of risk derived from excess flood policies, albeit small in nature, and changes in the macroeconomic environment, A.M. Best said.
WNFIC derives significant revenue and fee-based income from its book of non-risk-bearing National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) business, as well as from its excess flood coverage. These factors are expected to significantly contribute to WNFIC’s overall profitability. WNFIC is expected to continue its NFIP program, according to A.M. Best.
A.M. Best also said it would maintain the under review with negative implications status on the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” of WRM America Indemnity Co. (WRMAI), the niche education market insurance provider that was not part of the transaction with Brown & Brown. A.M. Best said it expects to finalize WRMAI’s ratings once its strategic plan is completed.
The ratings agency said its ratings of WRMAI reflect its solid capitalization, experienced management team and strong claim and risk management programs. Partially offsetting these positive rating factors is the execution risk associated with the expansion of an existing single-state platform into additional states, A.M. Best said.
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