Business Moves

Watkins Insurance Group, AIC-Sun Belt

Watkins Insurance Group, based in Austin, Texas, purchased local insurance agency AIC-Sun Belt Group Inc. for an undisclosed amount.

All current employees of AIC-Sun Belt, including principals, will be retained. With the addition of AIC-Sun Belt’s 11 employees, Watkins Insurance Group staff increases to a total of 79 employees.

Watkins Insurance Group offers a full range of business and personal insurance, and employee benefit programs. Commercial products include property, general liability, workers’ compensation, and directors and officers coverage. Through its employee benefits department, Watkins Insurance Group assists companies in implementing group health, life and disability coverage.

America First

Dallas-based America First Insurance, a member of Liberty Mutual Group, has expanded its Online Billing Service Center to allow its commercial lines customers to make online payments and view their account summaries and payment histories.

Commercial customers can now use Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) to make single payments online. Personal lines policyholders can also use credit and debit cards for single online payments, and can set-up automated, recurring EFT payments, eliminating postage expenses and late fees and reducing installment fees.

Policyholders enroll and access the Online Billing Service Center by visiting www.americafirst-ins.com/billing. In addition to 24-hour secure access to their accounts, customers can receive e-mail notifications regarding updated invoice information.

America First Insurance offers property and casualty products, including a comprehensive set of personal and commercial coverage, distributed only through appointed independent agents. Headquartered in Dallas, America First Insurance offers insurance products in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Texas Mutual

Texas Mutual Insurance Company announced that the Texas Department of Insurance approved the expansion of its workers’ compensation health care network option. The new service areas include West Texas cities such as Abilene, Midland and Odessa, as well as Nacogdoches, Texarkana and Orange to the east.

With the expansion, the network option will be available to approximately 95 percent of the company’s policyholders.

Goldman Sachs, USI Holdings

USI Holdings Corp. headquartered in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., agreed to be acquired by GS Capital Partners, a private equity affiliate of Goldman, Sachs & Co., in a transaction valued at approximately $1.4 billion, including repayment of USI’s existing debt obligations.

USI acknowledged in October that it had received an inquiry from a private equity firm interested in acquiring all of the outstanding common stock of the company.

Under the terms of the agreement, USI stockholders will receive $17.00 in cash for each share of USI common stock they hold. GS Capital Partners Funds are part of the Goldman Sachs’ Principal Investment Area in the Merchant Banking Division.