Business Moves

BrickStreet Mutual

Workers’ compensation insurer BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. wants to expand into Kentucky, Virginia, Alabama, Pennsylvania and Illinois.

President and Chief Executive Officer Greg Burton says the West Virginia-based company plans to apply in those states over the next couple of months to offer workers’ compensation coverage. He says the coverage initially would be for West Virginia-based energy companies that operate in those states.

Burton says BrickStreet also plans to ask Insurance Commissioner Jane Cline to allow it to pay off a $200 million startup loan from the state loan this year.

BrickStreet was spun off from a state agency in 2006 and had a monopoly on workers’ compensation insurance in West Virginia until July 2008.

Zurich Integrated Products

Zurich North America Commercial will begin accepting new business in 11 South Central and Southeastern states through its new Zurich Integrated Products unit, which services commercial customers in between the small-to-middle market segments.

Agents and brokers can submit new business from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Zurich launched the Zurich Integrated Products unit in fall 2008 for businesses generating between $5 million and $25 million in annual revenues.

National City Bank

An independent holding company owned by an insurance industry veteran has purchased Harbor Insurance Agency and Florida Consolidated Agency, both former wholly owned subsidiaries of National City Bank.

The new owner, Tom Cook, prior to acquiring Harbor Insurance, was president of National City Insurance Group, Inc. Prior to joining National City, Cook was president and CEO of Acordia of Northeast Ohio (now Wells Fargo Insurance). He also worked for Progressive Insurance Co.

The two agencies, which operated in eight eastern Florida coast locations, will be consolidated into one new organization, Harbor Insurance. Former Florida Consolidated Agency offices located in Juno Beach and Greenacres will be absorbed into a new West Palm Beach office. The former Harbor Insurance Agency locations in Palm Bay and Palm City will be consolidated in Vero Beach. Harbor Insurance will also continue to operate existing offices in Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie, for a total of four locations.

Former Harbor Insurance Agency President David Willbur and former Florida Consolidated Agency President Bill Lay will remain in leadership roles with the new company.

Insurance Specialty Group, Wastepac

Insurance Specialty Group LLC has acquired Wastepac, a provider of insurance coverage to the waste hauling and sanitation industry.

Wastepac will continue to operate as a risk purchasing group under its own brand as part of Insurance Specialty Group.

Lee Orabona, president of the ISG Underwriting Division, will head the operation located in Port Jefferson, N.Y. Formed in 2003, ISG is a national insurance brokerage and underwriting firm headquartered in Atlanta.

AmWINS

Charlotte, North Carolina-based insurance wholesale brokerage AmWINS Group, Inc. has acquired three medical stop loss wholesalers. The firms acquired are American Stop Loss Insurance of Worcester, Mass.; Brokerage Services, Health Benefit Solutions of Benicia, Calif.; and Insurance and National Insurance Wholesalers of Houston, Texas.

The acquisitions create the nation’s largest wholesale broker of medical stop loss insurance, according to AmWINS. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The current management teams of each entity will continue to lead the day-to-day activities for their respective company – Gerry Gates and Walter Coolidge for ASL, Rebecca Bocek for HBS and Elizabeth Ogletree for NIW.

Mark McGuire, the founder of NIW, will lead the combined operations..

Ascension, Bartlett Agency

Kansas City-headquartered Ascension Insurance, Inc. has acquired Dennis Bartlett agency of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Bartlett agency specializes in medical malpractice coverage and will join Employers Mutual, Inc., a member of the Ascension group of companies based in Stuart, Florida.

Ascension serves middle-market companies nationwide. Ascension is led by president and CEO Leonard P. Kline, Jr. The Ascension insurance agency has 20 locations nationwide.