Business Moves
Redondo Beach, Calif.-based Bliss and Glennon Inc., a managing general agent and surplus lines broker, has launched a large property department to be headed by Tony Morgan.
Morgan has more than 15 years experience in writing large property accounts. To contact the Redondo Beach office, fax (310) 372-1903 or e-mail quotesrb@bgsurplus. com. For Northern California submissions, fax (408) 778-6096 or e-mail quotesmh@ bgsurplus.com. For San Diego, fax submissions to (760)737-7989 or e-mail to quotessd@bgsurplus.com.
Rainier Pacific Bank, Christopherson-Boze, Holman Insurance
Rainier Pacific Financial Group Inc.’s subsidiary, Rainier Pacific Bank, Tacoma, Wash., has acquired the property and casualty insurance businesses of Christopherson-Boze Insurance Services Inc. and Holman Insurance Agency Inc.
Wallace Christopherson, the former owner and president of the two agencies, was appointed as a vice president of the bank and will assume leadership responsibilities of the Bank’s insurance services unit. The bank purchased the insurance businesses for $3.5 million and anticipates the acquisitions will be modestly accretive, adding approximately $0.02 per share to 2006 earnings.
Rainier Pacific Financial Group Inc. is the bank holding company for Rainier Pacific Bank, a state-chartered savings bank, operating 13 branch offices in the Tacoma-Pierce County and City of Federal Way areas.
Payne Financial
Payne Financial Group Inc., a regional independent insurance agency, has expanded its Boise, Idaho, office by hiring Jon Riche, Larry Koomler and Trish Quarles.
Riche and Koomler were formerly brokers with Marsh in Boise. Their accounts and policies will be automatically transferred to Payne Financial Group, so clients will not need to do anything as a result of the change.
Quarles was formerly a senior associate with Mercer Health and Benefits and is expected to strengthen Payne’s Employee Benefits Division.
Riche, Koomler and Quarles will be based in Payne’s office in University Plaza at 960 Broadway Avenue. Phone: (208) 424-2900.
CBIZ, Valley Global
CBIZ Inc. has acquired Valley Global Insurance Brokers of San Jose, Calif.
Founded in 1999, Valley Global is a property and casualty insurance broker focusing on the construction and technology industries. Valley Global has 11 employees, recorded approximately $1.5 million in revenue during the past 12 months and will be integrated into the company’s Northern California Benefits & Insurance operations.
InsureMe
InsureMe, an Englewood, Colo.-based consumer-agent link for buying insurance online, has created a blog to help online marketers. The blog will help share tips, tools and news, the company says. Unlike a corporate Web site, the blog will be designed to be less formal and more interactive: the author posts an article and readers can respond or ask questions.
To view the InsureMe affiliate blog, go to http://affiliateblog.insureme.com.
Grange Insurance Group
The Seattle-based Grange Insurance Group has partnered with Identity Theft 911 LLC to provide free identity theft resolution services to its homeowner and farmowner policyholders. Identity Theft 911 also will assist victims following disasters, such as home fires, floods, hurricanes, tornados, and earthquakes.
If a person is a victim of identity theft, Identity Theft 911 will assign a personal advocate to guide the person through placing credit file fraud alerts; completing the Federal Trade Commission fraud affidavit; making phone calls to police departments, creditors, collection agencies and credit rating agencies; and setting up a case file for insurance claims and law enforcement investigations. Victims receive a full-year of credit and fraud monitoring.
In addition, Grange Insurance Group’s policyholders will have access to Identity Theft 911’s educational material through www.gigidentitytheft.com.