Business Moves – South Central

Louisiana Agency Partners, The Kirksey Agency

Louisiana Agency Partners (LAP) announced that The Kirksey Agency in West Monroe, La., has become the 12th member agency of the Louisiana-based network of independent insurance agencies.

According to Joe Cunningham Jr., the managing partner of LAP, The Kirksey Agency will solidify the group’s presence in northeast Louisiana and add a diversified commercial book of business as well as increased personal lines to the overall LAP portfolio.

The Kirksey Agency has been in business for 30 years.

Louisiana Agency Partners is a group of independent agencies located in central and north Louisiana that utilize company roll-up codes to combine their personal and commercial lines books of business for increased company profit-sharing opportunities. All LAP-affiliated agencies own their own books and have their own independent contracts with the carriers involved in the roll-up.

K2 Insurance Services, Midwestern Insurance Alliance

San Diego, Calif.-based managing general agent K2 Insurance Services LLC acquired a majority stake in Midwestern Insurance Alliance Inc., an MGA in Louisville, Ky., that underwrites workers’ compensation coverage with a focus on transportation.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The investment is the first for K2, formed in 2011 to invest in other MGAs and build a national insurance program business franchise. With the added capital support, Midwestern will expand its territory to 17 states, including Texas and California.

Fifty-two-year-old Midwestern reports annual gross written premiums of $35 million.

Midwestern previously underwrote business in Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina and Tennessee. In addition to California and Texas, its expanded territory now includes Alabama, Nevada, Utah, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia.

BB&T Corp., Crump Group

Winston-Salem, N.C.-based BB&T Corp. has completed its previously announced acquisition of insurance businesses from Roseland, N.J.- based insurance wholesaler Crump Group.

BB&T said the deal creates the largest independent wholesale distributor of life insurance and one of the largest providers of wholesale commercial insurance brokerage and specialty programs in the country.

The deal was first announced on Feb. 3, 2012. BB&T paid $570 million in cash to complete the transaction, which included Crump Property/Casualty Insurance Services and Crump Life Insurance Services, along with the rights to the Crump brand name.

Crump Group CEO John Howard is joining BB&T in a senior management role for insurance operations.

The deal does not include Crump’s retirement services business, Ascensus.

BB&T is one of the nation’s largest insurance brokers, in addition to being one of the 10 largest banks in the country in terms of deposits. Crump Group has been one of the largest wholesale insurance distributors in the country.

Argo Pro

Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. will reorganize its U.S. professional lines businesses into a single platform under the Argo Pro brand.

The reorganization consolidates three of Argo’s current business units: errors and omissions, U.S. management liability, and Insight Insurance Services.

Argo Pro will now provide a broad portfolio of E&O and management liability lines of business on an admitted and surplus lines basis.

Argo Pro’s portfolio of products will now include professional liability insurance coverages on a primary and excess basis for the following: accountants, architects and engineers, cyber/privacy, directors and officers, A side DIC, employment practices, fidelity and crime, fiduciary, insurance agents, lawyers, real estate, and technology/media.

Chief Underwriting Officer Laurie Banez will be responsible for the combined operations and will report to Lou Levinson, president of excess and surplus lines, and Mark Peeters, chief professional liability underwriter.

Michael Carr will continue to lead Argo Pro’s E&O operations and will report to Banez.