Business Moves
The Hanover, Campania Group
Massachusetts-based The Hanover has completed its acquisition of Virginia-based Campania Group, which provides professional and general liability solutions for durable medical equipment suppliers and health care providers, including behavioral health specialists, eldercare providers, and podiatrists. Founded in 1992, the Campania Group offers products in 30 states, as well as the District of Columbia.
Hanover CEO Frederick H. Eppinger said the acquisition will expand the company’s suite of industry and niche products in the health care field.
After a review of the transaction, A.M. Best upgraded the financial strength rating of Campmed Casualty & Indemnity Co., Campania’s underwriting subsidiary, to “A,” (Excellent).
The Hartford, TARP
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has repaid the U.S. government for its bailout by repurchasing all of The Hartford’s preferred shares issued to the U.S. Department of Treasury under the Capital Purchase Program (CPP), also known as the Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP).
The Hartford paid $3.4 billion to the U.S. Treasury to repurchase the preferred stock, plus a final dividend payment of about $21.7 million. The Hartford funded the repurchase with proceeds from its recent equity and debt offerings, as well as from available resources.
In June 2009, the insurer took $3.4 billion of federal bailout money to bolster capital in the wake of large investment losses
The U.S. Treasury continues to hold warrants to purchase approximately 52 million shares of The Hartford’s common stock at an initial exercise price of $9.79 per share. The company does not intend to repurchase the warrants from the U.S. Treasury.
Marsh, HSBC Insurance Brokers
Marsh has completed its previously agreed acquisition of HSBC Insurance Brokers Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Bank plc, in the United Kingdom and other key markets in Asia and the Middle East.
The deal was first announced last December. The purchase price was $205.4 million. Concurrently with the acquisition, Marsh entered into a preferred agreement to provide services to corporate and private clients referred to Marsh by HSBC.
Marsh said the acquisition was funded with cash, and has been completed in all geographies with the exception of Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, where Marsh expects to close in the second quarter of 2010. The acquired revenue of MBL’s operations is approximately £130 million annually.
During a transitional phase, scheduled to last through the end of the calendar year, HIBL will operate under the name Marsh Brokers Ltd. (MBL) in the United Kingdom and certain other geographies.
CRM Holdings, AmTrust Financial Services
CRM Holdings Ltd., a Bermuda-based workers’ compensation insurance provider, announced that its primary insurance subsidiary, Majestic Insurance Co., entered into a quota share agreement with certain subsidiaries of AmTrust Financial Services Inc. AmTrust writes workers’ compensation insurance in California, Arizona, Nevada and Oregon.
Majestic will arrange for selected workers’ compensation insurance policies to be underwritten by the AmTrust group companies and reinsured by Majestic under a 90 percent quota reinsurance agreement. Majestic will perform management services for the covered business, including marketing, underwriting, issuance of policies, loss control, and claims handling. The agreement limits the amount of covered business to $40 million in any calendar year.
Clackamas Insurance, Premier
Clackamas Insurance, which has offices in Clackamas and Sandy, Ore., purchased Premier Insurance.
According to W. Mike Moll, Clackamas president, all but one of Premier’s employees, and all the independent agents, have been retained. The acquisition should help Clackamas strengthen its agricultural and workers’ comp business.