Business Moves – Southeast

CRC|Crump, Preferred Brokerage

CRC|Crump has signed an agreement with Preferred Concepts in New York to acquire select assets of the company’s Preferred Brokerage business unit. Terms were not disclosed.

J.C. Sparling, who led Preferred Brokerage, will be joining CRC|Crump as a senior vice president and senior property broker effective immediately. He will manage the transition of the Preferred Brokerage book to CRC|Crump and will be based in Atlanta, Ga.

Sparling has more than 20 years of insurance experience and was one of the original founders of Mercator Risk Services, where he served as executive vice president of property and casualty.

Preferred Concepts, LLC is an insurance program administrator and wholesale broker. The company has offices in New York, Atlanta, Hartford, Westport, Conn. and Overland Park, Kan.

Preferred Concepts was founded in 1989 by Stuart Farber. Preferred began by offering policies through risk purchasing groups (RPGs). Farber took the RPG concept digital by creating the website ezumbrella.com for retail brokers and agents.

In January of 2006, Trident III, a fund managed by Stone Point Capital LLC, acquired a minority interest in Preferred Concepts. In June 2010, Preferred acquired the assets of Mercator Risk Services. Founded by Christopher M. Treanor, Michael Ryan and J.C. Sparling, Mercator Risk Services was a national wholesaler whose specialty brokerage became the Preferred Brokerage division of Preferred Concepts.

CRC operates eight wholesale-dedicated brands including CRC Brokerage, CRC|Crump, Southern Cross Underwriters, Tapco Underwriters, 5Star Specialty Programs, Negley & Associates, Hanleigh, and Target Insurance Services. The company is based in Birmingham, Ala.

CBIZ, Trinity Risk Advisors

CBIZ Inc. in Cleveland has acquired the assets of Trinity Risk Advisors Inc. of Atlanta, a specialty brokerage firm providing primarily medical malpractice insurance to the healthcare industry and insurance to the transportation industry. CBIZ said Trinity is expected to add five employees and approximately $1.0 million to its annualized revenue.

Nelson Guzman, president of CBIZ Trinity, has been appointed Southeast regional director of CBIZ’s property/ casualty healthcare division.

Citizens

Four Florida-based property insurers have been given the green light to remove up to 150,000 policies from the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp., which would contribute to the greatest shift of policies to the private market since 2008.

Florida Peninsula Insurance Co. has received approval to remove 35,000 policies; Homeowners Choice P&C Insurance Co., 75,000 policies; Southern Fidelity P&C Inc., 30,000 policies, and Southern Oak Insurance Co., 10,000.

The 150,000 policies, along with the 84,000 policies already removed by private insurers this year, should make 2012 the most successful year for depopulation since 2008. In 2011, only 53,000 Citizens policies made their way back to the private market, which mirrored closely the 60,000 removed in 2010.

While the four companies have received approval to remove 150,000 Citizens policies, it remains to be seen just how many of those policies will in fact be taken off of Citizens policyholder rolls. Policyholders and their agents have up to 30 days to decline the offer of coverage.

Legacy Underwriters

Florida has a new wholesale insurance broker specializing in marine industry risks. Founded by Steve Cunningham, Theresa Proios-Jewell and other associates with marine insurance experience, Legacy Underwriters is based out of St. Petersburg.

Cunningham most recently was with Wallace, Welch & Willingham. His previous positions were at Chubb & Son and as the founder of Tampa Bay Underwriters Inc.

Proios-Jewell began her insurance career at a small agency 22 years ago. She has held several marine-related positions in her tenures at Hull & Co. Inc. and Wallace, Welch & Willingham.

AmWINS, SMIC

Insurance broker AmWINS Group Inc. has acquired Special Markets Insurance Consultants Inc. SMIC is headquartered in Stevens Point, Wisconsin with a sales office in Chicago. Terms were not disclosed.

Founded in 1985 by Nora Stransky, SMIC is a managing general underwriter providing student accident medical, catastrophe medical, general liability and related insurance programs for elementary and secondary schools, colleges, youth groups, church groups, recreational programs and sports-related associations across the U.S.

SMIC’ CEO Kim Walker, who acquired the organization in 2005, will continue to lead the MGU along with Stransky.