Business Moves

Burns & Wilcox, Kimbrell Insurance

Wholesale broker Burns & Wilcox has purchased Kimbrell Insurance Group Inc., a wholesale broker and underwriting manager in South Carolina.

Kimbrell was founded in 1986 and is located in the Myrtle Beach, S.C. area. Burns & Wilcox acquired Kimbrell from First Financial Holdings Inc., headquartered in Charleston, S.C.

The purchase is the first Burns & Wilcox office in South Carolina and gives the broker a presence in all Southern states.

SNL, Summit Business Media

SNL Financial said it has acquired the Summit Business Media insurance information services unit, Highline Data, which resells insurance company data from regulatory agencies. Terms were not disclosed.

Summit Business Media is the parent of The National Underwriter Co. and other publications. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in January when it was $252 million in debt. In May, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved the company’s reorganization plan to cut $140 million of debt.

SNL is based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Summit’s headquarters is in New York and its home office is in Erlanger, Kentucky.

Medical Protective Co., Princeton Insurance Co.

Berkshire Hathaway’s medical professional liability insurance unit, Medical Protective Co., is purchasing New Jersey-based Princeton Insurance Co., a professional liability insurer for healthcare providers.

Princeton Insurance was previously owned by Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Co., a New York-based professional liability insurance provider.

Based in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton Insurance employs more than 100 people and serves 13,000 healthcare providers; it has annualized gross written premiums of $140 million and surplus at second quarter-end of $400 million. Princeton’s principal operations would remain in Princeton.

Medical Protective, which itself was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway in 2005, offers primary medical professional liability coverage for healthcare providers, including physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists, podiatrists, other healthcare professionals, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities. Medical Protective reports $700 million in annual premium.

LexisNexis, MarshBerry

LexisNexis Risk Solutions has acquired the Sales Portal from MarshBerry, the insurance consulting and merger advisory firm. The Sales Portal is a sales management automation tool used by larger brokerages that will now be offered by the LexisNexis Insurance Exchange. The Insurance Exchange is a collaborative insurance placement system designed to streamline the exchange of data and documents among agents, brokers, wholesalers and carriers.