Business Moves

ABRA Auto Body & Glass

ABRA Auto Body & Glass, a Minneapolis-based damaged vehicle repair company, announced the opening of its ninetieth repair center today. Located in Lee’s Summit, Mo., the franchise was awarded to Don Kahan, owner of Don Kahan Chevrolet. This facility operated under the Kahan Chevrolet name for the past forty years. The repair center, located at 505 North Highway 50, consists of 10,000 square feet, includes two downdraft paint booths along with two prep stations. The general manager is Dave Driskell, who has been in the collision repair industry for forty-five years. ABRA Auto Body & Glass is a national damaged vehicle repair company specializing in collision repair, paintless dent removal, and auto glass repair and replacement.

Arthur J. Gallagher, Chris Schroeder Insurance

Chicago-based brokerage giant Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced the acquisition of Chris Schroeder Insurance Inc. of Milwaukee. Founded in 1888, Chris Schroeder Insurance Inc. is a property/casualty retail insurance broker offering risk management, commercial, and personal lines insurance services to their Midwest client base. They specialize in insurance products for religious, institutional, nonprofit and higher educational businesses. Daniel Johnson, John Aghbashian and their staff will continue to operate from their current Milwaukee location under the direction of Thomas Gallagher, Midwest regional manager of Gallagher’s retail brokerage services division.

Berkshire Hathaway, General Electric

In a joint bulletin General Electric and Berkshire Hathaway announced that GE Insurance Solutions has entered into a letter of intent for the sale of Medical Protective Corp., a professional liability insurer for physicians and dentists, to National Indemnity, a unit of Berkshire Hathaway.

The agreement provides for National Indemnity to acquire a 100 percent ownership of MedPro and its subsidiaries from GE Insurance Solutions. According to news reports, Berkshire will pay $825 million for the business. The transaction, which is subject to completion of a definitive agreement as well as regulatory approvals, is expected to close by June 30, 2005.

Medical Protective is based in Ft. Wayne, Ind., and employs approximately 330 people, with 2004 gross written premiums of $737 million, serving 75,000 physicians and dentists. Tim Kenesey will remain as president and CEO of Medical Protective, the management team will remain in place, and its principal operations will remain in Ft. Wayne, where it was founded in 1899.

Community Insurance First

Bank of the West announced the debut of the new name of its insurance subsidiary, BW Insurance Agency Inc., which replaces the Community First Insurance name. Community First Insurance was part of the former Community First National Bank, which was merged into Bank of the West last year. BW Insurance Agency, which offers both personal and commercial insurance products, remains headquartered in Fargo, N.D., and has 59 locations in eight Midwestern and Rocky Mountain states. BW Insurance Agency products range from automobile, homeowners and worker’s compensation, to life and general liability insurance offered through select Bank of the West branches.

Hartville Group

North Canton, Ohio-based pet insurer Hartville Group Inc. announced that its board of directors has decided that pursuing the acquisition of the property/casualty insurance company was no longer in the best interest of shareholders.

Consequently, the agreement to acquire the insurance company will not proceed and negotiations with the Ohio Department of Insurance have ended.

The company is presently negotiating an agreement for termination with the Insurance Department. Previously issued 10-QSBs for June 30, 2004 and Sept. 30, 2004 will be restated to reflect the de-consolidation of the insurance company and will include the company’s estimate of recoverable costs incurred in connection with the attempted acquisition.

Despite the withdrawal from this acquisition the company said it continues to service existing customers and write policies through a large international general insurance and reinsurance group.

Management, the company said, is identifying other potential opportunities which will allow it to take a greater portion of the underwriting profit on future policies and renewals.

Hub International, THB Intermediaries

Chicago-based broker Hub International Ltd. has entered the reinsurance brokerage market through the acquisition of THB Intermediaries Inc., which was formed in Los Angeles more than 20 years ago. Terms of the cash and common stock agreement were not disclosed.

THB, which has annual revenue of approximately $6 million, is one of a small number of facultative reinsurance brokers in the U.S. Facultative reinsurance brokers work with insurance companies to place portions of the insurers’ risks with reinsurance underwriters.

As the reinsurance market is fundamentally different from the retail and wholesale brokerage businesses at Hub International, THB will operate as a “specialty hub,” according to the companies. Hub International’s acquisition strategy focuses primarily on regional hubs that serve as the base for further expansion within a region. The company classifies a business unit as a specialty hub when the unit addresses a unique market segment, rather than serving as a regional expansion platform.

THB operates with 32 employees out of four offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas. The company president, Richard Di Clemente, will continue to lead as president of the new hub. THB shareholders received restricted common shares in Hub International as a portion of the acquisition payment.

Insurance.com

Cleveland-based online insurance agency Insurance.com is launching a cable TV ad campaign starring a “gruff but lovable English bulldog named Otto” who woofs up the agency’s auto insurance offerings. Insurance.com’s insurance marketplace is designed to allow consumers to compare rates from top auto insurance companies side-by-side, according to a statement released by the firm. Consumers can then purchase insurance products, either online or by calling an 800 number. Insurance.com claims to be the largest online auto insurance agency in the country. It is owned and operated by ComparisonMarket Inc.

To submit information for this department, e-mail: koreilly@insurancejournal.com.