Business Moves

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reports it has acquired Adams & Associates International, Ltd. of Columbia, S.C. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Adams & Associates International Ltd. is a retail insurance broker offering property/casualty, accident, and medical insurance programs and related services. They specialize in missionary and non-profit organizations and related persons residing, traveling, and/or working outside of the U.S.

Harold H. Adams Jr. and his staff will continue to operate in their Columbia location under the direction of David Marcus, vice president and Southeastern regional manager of Gallagher’s Brokerage Services Division – Retail.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. is an international insurance brokerage and risk management services firm headquartered in Itasca, Ill.

HCC Holdings

Houston, Texas-based HCC Insurance Holdings Inc., announcing the results of its independent investigation of stock option granting practices, said company founder Stephen L. Way resigned as chief executive officer effective Nov. 17, 2006. Way will remain a director and serve as the non-executive chairman of the board. In addition, Chris L. Martin has resigned as executive vice president and general counsel.

HCC investigated stock option granting practices during the period of 1995 through the present and concluded that the company used incorrect measurement dates for certain stock option grants covering a significant number of employees from 1995 through 2006.

The company is working to assess the related financial effects. The currently estimate is the pre-tax impact is unlikely to exceed $37 million. The company said it expects that the errors will require some increased tax provision.

Way founded the company and was president during most of the period. Since becoming a public company in 1992 under Way’s leadership, the company’s assets have increased from $162 million to more than $7 billion. During the same time period, gross written premium has risen from $74.9 million to $2 billion in 2005, and annual revenue increased from $29.1 million to $1.6 billion in 2005. It has also completed over 30 acquisitions.

Effective with Way’s resignation, the Frank J. Bramanti was elected as CEO. Bramanti has 25 years of experience in the property/casualty business, almost all with HCC.

OneBeacon, National Marine Underwriters

OneBeacon Insurance Group has acquired ownership of National Marine Underwriters, a yacht-specialty managing general agent with a 20-year history of writing recreational marine business. National Marine Underwriters will become a part of International Marine Underwriters, a division of OneBeacon Insurance Group. Based in Annapolis, Md., National Marine Underwriters is licensed to operate in the 48 continental states and the District of Columbia.

Independent Insurance Investments Inc., Omni Insurance Group

Independent Insurance Investments Inc. has completed its acquisition of Omni Insurance Group. Independent acquired Omni from The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. for about $100 million. Omni, an Atlanta-based auto insurance company for high-risk drivers, generated net written premiums of $174 million in 2005. The firm writes policies in more than 40 states and has about 250 employees and a network of independent agents. Suburban Philadelphia-based Independent, which also specializes in insuring high-risk drivers, writes more than $220 million in annual direct premiums and has 430 employees.

SIAA, Cumberland Insurance Group

Strategic Independent Agents Alliance announced that Cumberland Insurance Group, LLC of Cookeville, Tenn., has established Independent Agents Alliance of Tennessee as an SIAA Master Agency. As a master agency, the Independent Agents Alliance of Tennessee will make SIAA benefits and markets available to other agencies in several counties in northern Tennessee. The markets include The Hartford, Travelers, Safeco, Zurich, St. Paul Travelers, Encompass and Hanover.

ICAT, Lloyd’s

Boulder, Colo.-based ICAT Holdings LLC has created a new underwriting syndicate at Lloyd’s of London, designated as ICM Syndicate 4242, to support the company’s underwriting of catastrophe-exposed properties throughout the United States. ICM Syndicate 4242 will commence underwriting business on Jan. 1, 2007.

Syndicate 4242 has capital to support approximately $200 million of gross written premium for 2007. ICAT Managers has binding authority to underwrite and manage the company’s existing core business on behalf of the syndicate. Capital has been supplied through a consortium made up of ICAT and third-party investors, including Chaucer Holdings PLC.

ICAT’s Gregory Butler is the active underwriter of Syndicate 4242. Butler has held several underwriting positions at ICAT and was previously deputy insurance commissioner in the California Department of Insurance and served as the founding chief executive officer of the California Earthquake Authority.