Business Moves
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Trissel Graham & Toole
Itasca, Ill.-based Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Trissel Graham & Toole Inc., headquartered in Davenport, Iowa.
With roots dating back to 1896, Trissel Graham & Toole (TGT) offers risk management, property/casualty and employee benefit insurance services for their commercial and personal lines clients in the central United States. The firm also specializes in placing coverages for the manufacturing, education, healthcare, construction, municipality and transportation industries.
Mark Schwab, Robert Karll and their staff will continue to operate in their Davenport and Sterling, Ill., locations under the direction of Thomas J. Gallagher, Midwest regional manager of Gallagher’s retail property/casualty brokerage operation.
Marsh & McLennan Agency, Gallagher & Associates
Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC (MMA), a subsidiary of insurance broker Marsh Inc., has acquired Minnesota-based Gallagher & Associates Inc., a $1 million property and casualty insurance agency specializing in public school districts.
Gallagher & Associates in Blaine, Minn., will operate within RJF, a Marsh & McLennan Agency company. The transaction is the first complementary acquisition for RJF, which MMA acquired in January 2011 to serve as its upper Midwest hub.
Tom Gallagher, John Siffert, and the rest of the Gallagher & Associates team will join RJF’s Minnesota office.
Partners Mutual, Penn National Insurance
Partners Mutual Insurance Co. (Partners Mutual), headquartered in Waukesha, Wis., and Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Co. (Penn National) forged an affiliation agreement under which the two companies will enter into an intercompany reinsurance pooling agreement after closing.
The parties expect that by joining the Penn National Insurance pool, Partners Mutual will be assigned Penn National’s pooled A- (Excellent) rating by A. M. Best.
Richard C. Ewert will continue to serve as Partners Mutual’s president and CEO; and Mark H. Ewert will continue to serve as its executive vice president.
Partners Mutual will pool its premiums, losses and underwriting expenses with Penn National Insurance and geographically diversify its book of business. Partners Mutual will also enhance its ability to gain more competitive terms on reinsurance and other operational services, and gain access to Penn National Insurance’s technology services.
Dumbaugh Insurance Agency, Keystone Insurers Group
Mount Vernon, Ohio-based Dumbaugh Insurance Agency is now a partner in Keystone Insurers Group (KIG). Dumbaugh Insurance is Keystone’s 28th franchise partner in Ohio, bringing the property and casualty insurance broker group’s growth rate to 4 percent in the state.
Founded in Fredericktown, Ohio, in 1939, Dumbaugh Insurance has since added locations in Mount Vernon and Delaware, Ohio. The agency offers personal, commercial and employee benefit solutions in seven states.
Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Northumberland, Pa., KIG is owned by its franchise partners and employees in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. Each partner is an independent agency. KIG is ranked fifth on Insurance Journal’s 2011 list of Top 100 Privately-Held Property/Casualty Agencies.
Signature Select, Cassell Insurance
Signature Select LLC, a retail insurance broker subsidiary of the IMA Financial Group Inc., has acquired Cassell Insurance of Wichita and Emporia, Kan., an agency specializing in personal lines and business insurance. The acquisition adds five talented individuals to Signature Select’s staff in Wichita and two in Emporia.
Signature Select provides personal insurance services, such as home and auto insurance, and business insurance solutions for small- to mid-sized organizations. Signature Select has a presence in Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Topeka and Wichita, and is seeking licensure in all 50 states.
MMIC
Medical liability insurer MMIC Group Inc. (MMIC), headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., has received final regulatory approval to change from a stock holding company to a mutual insurance holding company.
The move “will enhance our ability to succeed in a challenging marketplace by making new investments and partnering with other firms,” MMIC President and CEO Bill McDonough said in the company’s announcement. “This will also enhance our ability to affiliate with other mutual firms owned by physicians, hospitals or other providers, giving us the scale to compete effectively at a time of increasing cost pressures on mutual medical liability insurers.”
McDonough added that though MMIC has been a stock holding company, it has operated “like a mutual for many years, consistently paying dividends to all customers.”
MMIC Group Inc. provides professional liability insurance and health information technology services to physicians, clinics, hospitals and other health care facilities and systems, primarily in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.