Business Moves

Cornerstone General

Cornerstone General Insurance Agency Inc., a newly established managing general agency, opened its national headquarters in Sacramento, Calif.

James R. Watje, president and CEO, announced the opening of the office as the natural conclusion of years of work and relationship building with independent agents in California, Hawaii and Arizona. Currently, the company represents the North Pointe Insurance Group in marketing an excess and surplus lines residential property program in Hawaii, and has two personal lines property programs in development for California, Arizona, and Nevada.

Cornerstone was founded in Sacramento in 2007 as a spin-off from a regional underwriting office of a Midwestern based carrier.

Mercury General

Mercury General Corp., reported net income of $63.3 million in the third quarter of 2007, compared with $68.2 million for the same period in 2006. For the first nine months of 2007, net income was $193.2 million compared with net income of $164.7 million for the same period in 2006. Included in net income are net realized investment gains, net of tax, of $1.3 million in the third quarter of 2007 compared with net realized investment gains, net of tax, of $1.7 million for the same period in 2006, and net realized investment gains, net of tax, of $7.1 million for the first nine months of 2007 compared with net realized investment gains, net of tax, of $8.7 million for the same period in 2006.

Company-wide net premiums written were $758.8 million in the third quarter of 2007, a 2.2 percent decrease over third quarter 2006 net premiums written of $776.2 million, and were approximately $2.3 billion for the first nine months of 2007, a 1 percent decrease over the same period in 2006.

However, California net premiums written were $587.7 million in the third quarter of 2007, an increase of 2.5 percent over the same period in 2006, and were approximately $1.8 billion for the first nine months of 2007, a 3.9 percent increase over the same period in 2006. Non-California net premiums written were $171.1 million in the third quarter of 2007, a 15.7 percent decrease over the same period in 2006, and were $525.5 million for the first nine months of 2007, a decrease of 14.2 percent over the same period in 2006.

The company’s combined ratio was 94.2 percent both in the third quarter and for the first nine months of 2007 compared with 93 percent and 94.5 percent for the same periods in 2006.

The company also provided an update on the impact of October 2007′s the Southern California region wildfires. As of Nov. 1, 2007, approximately 2,200 homes were reported as destroyed. Mercury had received 13 total property loss claims and 153 partial property loss claims related to the fires and more than 700 claims related to wind damage. The company said it anticipates that the number of reported claims will increase but is uncertain as to the total number of claims that will be reported. The company estimated its California homeowners market share to be approximately 3 percent.

For more information, visit www.mercuryinsurance.com.