Business Moves
Arthur J. Gallagher, The Titan Group, The Forker Co., SGB-NIA Insurance
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. recently acquired The Titan Group LLC, The Forker Co. and SGB-NIA Insurance Brokers.
SGB-NIA Insurance Brokers, headquartered in Woodland Hills, Calif., provides retail property/casualty, risk management and employee benefits insurance products and consulting services to commercial and individual clients throughout the Western United States. They specialize in insurance coverage for the manufacturing, metal worker, retail hardware and commercial real estate industries.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
James Scanlon and his colleagues will continue to operate in their Woodland Hills and Camarillo locations under the direction of James McFarlane, head of Gallagher’s Western Region retail property/casualty brokerage operations.
Established in 2000, The Forker Co. in Arlington Heights, Ill., is a retail insurance agency that offers contract surety coverage to clients throughout the Midwest. The firm specializes in providing surety coverage for the construction industry.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Peter Forker and his associates will continue to operate under the direction of Michael Pesch, head of Gallagher’s Midwest region retail property/casualty brokerage operation.
Founded in 2001, The Titan Group LLC located in Richmond, Va., provides human resource consulting services for private, public, nonprofit, education and state government clients throughout the Eastern United States.
Titan specializes in compensation consulting, leadership development, organizational development and human resource advisory products and services. Genevieve Roberts, Lee Weisiger and their associates will continue to operate from their current location under the direction of William Ziebell, head of Gallagher’s North Central region employee benefits consulting and brokerage operations.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., an international insurance brokerage and risk management services firm, is headquartered in Itasca, Ill. The firm has operations in 30 countries and offers client service capabilities in more than 140 countries through a network of correspondent brokers and consultants.
Hudson Insurance Group, Surety Partners of America
Hudson Insurance Group has acquired the underwriting operations of Surety Partners of America, Northeast, which is based in Chester, N.J.
Surety Partners of America, which was formed in 2009, is licensed and operates in 50 states through regional offices in New Jersey, Wisconsin, Maryland and Iowa. The transaction affects the Northeast operation only.
As part of the transaction, Michael Blount, a partner and regional bond manager, and James Balzan, senior bond manager, will join the team at Hudson Surety headed by Senior Vice President of Underwriting Michael Cifone.
Tom Chambers, Midwest regional manager, said there are “no changes expected” for the Surety Partners of America, Midwest LLC. He will continue to lead that underwriting division with Todd Kramer remaining as the regional bond manager. The Midwest office handles business in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin.
The deal also does not affect the Mid-Atlantic operation based in Maryland, according to Michael Schendel, Mid-Atlantic manager. Courtney Seed remains bond manager. This office writes in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
Hudson Insurance Group, part of Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., underwrites specialty primary and excess insurance on an admitted and non-admitted basis through Hudson Insurance Co., Hudson Specialty Insurance Co. and Hudson Excess Insurance Co.
C&R Insurance Services
C&R Insurance Services Inc. in Wayne, Pa., has acquired Garden State Professional Insurance Agency, a professional liability agency based in Freehold, N.J., and its affiliate FLAG Insurance Services. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1999, Garden State offers various coverages including professional liability insurance for attorneys and law firms, accountants, non-profit organizations, real estate agents and title professionals. Garden State’s customers are located predominantly in New Jersey. FLAG Insurance serves customers in Florida, New York and Pennsylvania and is planning to expand to the Connecticut market.
Both Garden State and FLAG Insurance Services are headed by Mark Diette. He will remain as president and continue to lead the two firms’ operations. Garden State and FLAG Insurance Services serve more than 2,400 combined customers and have $10 million in annual premium.
Founded in 1995, C&R Insurance Services provides professional liability insurance products for physicians and lawyers. The firm serves more than 4,300 insureds and has more than $35 million in annual premium.
Hub International, Fotek Insurance
Hub International Limited announced that its subsidiary Hub International Northeast Limited has acquired the stock of Fotek Insurance Agency Inc., a New Jersey-based employee benefits brokerage. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
The Fotek operations will remain in Wall, N.J., and will become part of Hub Northeast’s network of 15 locations and more than 650 employees throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
James Foglio, Fotek’s president, will join Hub as senior vice president and report to Joe Torella, Hub’s president, eastern region, employee benefits.
Based in Chicago, Hub International Limited is a global insurance brokerage that provides property/casualty, life and health, employee benefits, investment and risk management products and services through offices located in the United States and Canada.
Texas Legal Protection Plan, Texas Legal
Texas Legal Protection Plan, a nonprofit company that provides legal insurance, has changed its name to Texas Legal.
It was founded by the State Bar of Texas and the Texas Legislature in 1972, and offers comprehensive legal coverage for every stage in life such as adoptions, divorces and estate planning. Membership covers legal expenses much like health insurance covers medical expenses. A low monthly fee gives members access to a network of attorneys throughout the state.
According to a study conducted by the Research Intelligence Group, 58 million Americans sought an attorney during 2012, and 110 million have sought legal counsel at least once in their lives. This underscores the importance of having a legal plan in place to help consumers remove the uncertainty about seeking legal services.
Texas Legal provides legal insurance for companies, groups and individuals throughout the state. It is the only nonprofit legal insurance company in Texas that offers plans for individuals who are not part of a group plan.
The policy for one year for a family costs about the same as one hour of an attorney’s time and can be used for a wide variety of legal issues, including estate planning, adoptions, divorce, foreclosure, identity theft, traffic tickets, bankruptcy and more. The member can choose his/her attorney from a network of attorneys across the state and can use different attorneys depending on the issue they are facing. Texas Legal members also have unlimited access to a free legal hotline.
Marsh & McLennan, Nuwest Insurance Services
Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC has acquired NuWest Insurance Services Inc., an Irvine, Calif.-based property/casualty agency.
NuWest generates roughly $2.4 million in revenue and specializes in providing P/C insurance solutions for multi-employer trust funds and employee unions. NuWest will be consolidated into the Orange County office of Barney & Barney, a Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC company.
The transaction marks the first acquisition for MMA West, which was established in February with the acquisition of Barney & Barney.
Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC, a subsidiary of Marsh, offers commercial property/casualty, personal lines, and employee benefits to clients across the U.S.