Business Moves

McGowan Insurance, Keystone

McGowan Insurance Group Inc. of Indianapolis has become Keystone Insurers Group’s 27th franchise partner in Indiana.

Led by Hugh M. McGowan, McGowan Insurance has roots dating back to the Great Depression. The agency offers full-service insurance and benefits products to clients in its local community. Hugh M. McGowan serves as an officer of the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters (CPCU) Central Indiana Chapter and formerly was state chairman for the Independent Insurance Agents of Indiana (IIAI) Young Agents Committee.

Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Northumberland, Pa., Keystone Insurers Group is owned by its franchise partners and employees in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. Each partner is an independent agency.

With P/C premiums exceeding $1.4 billion, KIG is ranked fifth on Insurance Journal’s 2010 list of Top 100 Privately-Held Property/Casualty Agencies.

Arthur J. Gallagher, Fish & Schulkamp

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Fish & Schulkamp Inc. of Madison, Wis.

Founded in 1906, Fish & Schulkamp Inc. is a retail insurance broker providing commercial property/casualty and risk management insurance services to clients throughout the central United States. It specializes in the commercial/retail and industrial manufacturing and hospitality industries.

Eric Olson and his associates will continue to operate in their Madison location under the direction of Thomas Gallagher, Midwest regional manager of Gallagher’s retail property/casualty brokerage operation.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., an international insurance brokerage and risk management services firm, is headquartered in Itasca, Ill.

United Fire & Casualty

Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based United Fire & Casualty Co. in late May signed an agreement and filed a reorganization plan with United Fire Group Inc. (United Fire Group), a newly formed subsidiary of United Fire, and UFC MergeCo Inc. (MergeCo), a newly formed subsidiary of United Fire Group. Under the plan of reorganization United Fire will operate under a holding company structure.

United Fire will merge with MergeCo, with MergeCo as the surviving company. United Fire would become the subsidiary of United Fire Group, and United Fire shareholders would become shareholders of United Fire Group, a new Iowa holding company.

Upon reorganization, each outstanding share of United Fire common stock will be automatically converted into one share of United Fire Group common stock. Shareholders of United Fire common stock would hold the same number of shares and the same ownership percentage after the reorganization as they held immediately prior to the reorganization.

The reorganization generally would be tax-free for United Fire shareholders.

United Fire Group will replace United Fire as the publicly held corporation. United Fire Group, through United Fire and its subsidiaries, would continue to conduct all of the operations currently conducted by United Fire and its subsidiaries.

The directors and executive officers of United Fire prior to the reorganization would be the same as the directors and executive officers of United Fire Group following the reorganization.

The company believes a holding company structure will provide it with greater strategic, business, financing and regulatory flexibility.

At a special meeting, United Fire shareholders will vote on the proposal to approve the reorganization. If approved, it is currently expected that the reorganization would take place before the end of 2011.

Digital Insurance, Employee Benefits by Design, Strategic Benefits Consultants

Digital Insurance Inc., an employee benefits agency specializing in insurance for small businesses and mid-sized companies, acquired Employee Benefits by Design in Chicago and Strategic Benefits Consultants (SBC) in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The principals and team members of both firms will continue operating the agencies.

Digital is licensed to operate in all 50 states, but the acquisitions are its first in the Midwest and Southwest.

Established in 1933, Employee Benefits by Design serves employers primarily in the Chicago area. Clients range in size up to 800 employees.

SBC is one of the 25 largest independent brokerage firms in Arizona. It serves more than 100 clients ranging in size up to 2,000 employees, located throughout the Southwestern U.S.

Digital is in an aggressive expansion mode. The company closed 2010 with $17 million in acquisitions, a pursuit that continues in 2011 through a variety of methods.