Business Moves

CNA

CNA Financial Corp. recently announced a restructuring of its Property/Casualty Operations. The Chicago-based insurer said it aims to create a “more streamlined, customer-focused operating structure.”

CNA, the country’ s seventh largest commercial insurance writer and the 13th largest P/C company, said its strategy reflects feedback from CNA agents and brokers, in altering the operations to “help increase CNA’ s visibility in the market, leverage the structure of local branch offices and make it easier for agents to do business with CNA.”

“These changes reinforce the central role our 29 branches play in bringing the full range of CNA’s national capabilities to the local market,” maintained Jim Lewis, president and CEO of P/C Operations.

CNA said its local presence remains the same and no branches are being closed. Field leadership is led from two regional centers — Field Operations West and Field Operations East. Each center will be led by Field Operations presidents — Steve Stonehouse (West) and Dennis Barger (East).

Stonehouse recently served as president of CNA’s former West region. Before joining CNA, he served as senior vice president at Reliance Insurance as well as managing director for Chubb Group.

Barger, who recently served as president of CNA’s former South region, has an insurance career that includes stints at Fireman’s Fund, Zurich and the Hartford.

CNA listed a number of additional changes it will be making in its P/C Operations:

Commercial Insurance provides centralized underwriting and service support to the field, includes middle market, commercial segments and risk control. This area is led by Naveen Anand, who was president of CNA’s former Central region.

Business Insurance consolidates CNA’s Small Business and CustomXpress units. CustomXpress targets accounts in the size range between small business and middle market. It is led by Larry Illion who has been senior vice president for CNA Small Business.

Distribution Management is focused on establishing a visible, local presence in the marketplace. This team is led by John Hennessy, former senior vice president of CNA Casualty Underwriting and Middle Market. He was most recently responsible for CNA’s casualty underwriting, as well as overall leadership of CNA’s Middle Market book of business.

Global Specialty Lines remains under the leadership of Peter Wilson whose responsibilities have been expanded to include all foreign operations including those in Europe, Canada and Argentina.

James River, D.E. Shaw

James River Group Inc. stockholders have overwhelmingly approved the acquisition of the company by a Bermuda-based holding company and member of the D.E. Shaw group, a global investment management firm, with the value of the transaction totaling approximately $575 million. The company expects that the transaction will be completed in early December 2007.

James River Group Inc. currently underwrites in two specialty areas: excess and surplus lines in 48 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia; and workers’ compensation, primarily for the residential construction industry in North Carolina and Virginia.

Brown & Brown, Independent Insurance Associates

Brown & Brown Inc. has acquired Independent Insurance Associates Inc. of New Orleans, La., according to a joint announcement released by the two companies. Independent Insurance Associates is a commercial property and casualty insurance agency, with annualized revenues of approximately $4 million. Gordon Clay Jr., Bryan Duplantier, August Englehardt, George Gay, Thomas Gibson and Maurice Hartson III and their staff will continue serving clients from their current New Orleans location as a stand-alone Brown & Brown operation.

Montpelier Re, Gainsco

Dallas-based Gainsco Inc. and subsidiary MGA Insurance Co. Inc. completed a previously announced sale of an affiliated insurance subsidiary, General Agents Insurance Company of America Inc. General Agents was sold to Montpelier Re U.S. Holdings Ltd., a subsidiary of Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd., for $4.75 million, plus $5 million of policyholders’ surplus that remained in General Agents at closing.

As part of the transaction, all direct obligations of General Agents were assumedby MGA, and MGA also indemnified General Agents against other liabilities existing prior to closing. Additionally, the company guaranteed the obligations of MGA to General Agents.

MGA will manage the continued disposition of the company’s runoff business and will continue to write the company’s ongoing nonstandard personal automobile business.

The company will be renamed Montpelier US Insurance Co. (MUSIC) with underwriting operations based in Scottsdale, Arizona. It will write primarily excess and surplus line insurance in the continental U.S. MUSIC’s new president, Dick Nenaber, noted that the company is “assembling an experienced team.”