Business Moves

AmWINS, Willis Towers Watson

Specialty insurance broker AmWINS Group reported that it has completed the previously-announced acquisition of 15 insurance programs from Willis Towers Watson. Terms were not disclosed.

The programs will become part of AmWINS Program Underwriters (APU), a managing general agency specializing in affinity and program management that underwrites 20 programs with more than

$150 million of premium and has locations in Camp Hill, Pa.; Charlotte, N.C.: Dallas; and Farmington, Conn.

The 15 acquired programs have a team of more than 115 employees with offices in Portsmouth, N.H.; Burlington, Vt.; Tampa, Fla.; Detroit; Denver; Salt Lake City; and Hartford, Conn.

Among the people from Willis Programs who will be joining AmWINS are Debbie Stanley, chief operating officer; Jim Kelley, underwriting officer; Dan Curran, underwriting officer; Bo Adams, MountainGuard program manager; and Tim Hendrickson, MountainGuard program manager.

AmWINS said decisions on offices for the combined program business will be made after the acquisition closes.

The complete list of the 15 programs that are part of the transaction is as follows:

• MountainGuard
• DealerGuard
• RecycleGuard
• ResortGuard
• Health Care
• WorkCompGuard
• FeedLot & Dairy
• CAR-PAC
• PizzaGuard
• Rent-ItGuard
• MAPP
• Lawyers Regional
• UtilitySure
• WellGuard
• WorkTruckGuard

The sale will leave Willis Towers Watson with a handful of select programs, the company said.

AmWINS has more than 4,300 employees in 12 countries and handles more than $14 billion in annual premium placements.

Hub International, Graffam Insurance Group, Axella

Hub International Ltd. (Hub), a global insurance brokerage, has acquired the assets of Graffam Insurance Group LLC (Graffam). Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Based in Cumberland Center, Maine, Graffam specializes in employee benefits and services businesses in Maine and New Hampshire.

In a separate deal, Hub annnounced it also acquired the assets of San Diego-based Axella Insurance Services Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Martin Khalaf, president and CEO of Axella, will join Hub California and report to Daniel Kabban, executive vice president of Hub California.

Axella is a multiline insurance brokerage serving both individuals and businesses.

Hub International, headquartered in Chicago, provides property and casualty, life and health, employee benefits, investment and risk management products.

Kueny Insurance, KMRD Partners

Kueny Insurance, a Warrington, Pa.-based insurance company, has merged with KMRD Partners, a boutique risk management and human capital solutions firm also based in Warrington.

The merger brings three new team members to KMRD with experience in small-to mid-size business and personal lines, said KMRD Principal and Co-Founder Bob Dietzel.

Kueny Insurance has been serving more than 1,000 commercial and personal clients in the Philadelphia and surrounding regions for more than a quarter century.

Frenkel & Company, EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants

Frenkel & Company, a New York-based, full-service independent insurance broker, and EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants, a national retail insurance brokerage and employee benefits consulting firm, have joined forces.

Frenkel & Company has been delivering strategic guidance and service around the risk management, insurance and benefit consulting needs of its clients for nearly 140 years, said President and CEO John F. Kelly.

Joining EPIC will help it to deliver a broader and deeper set of capabilities and added value to clients, he said.

The firm will operate as Frenkel & Company – a Division of EPIC. Frenkel & Company’s leadership team will play active roles within the integrated EPIC organization.

EPIC CEO John Hahn stated that the Frenkel locations and teams in New York, Jersey City, N.J., Boston, and Los Angeles, are expected to create opportunities for employees’ long-term growth and career success.

Frenkel & Company will also provide a platform in the Northeast to extend EPIC’s risk management, property and casualty insurance, international client services, employee benefits consulting, program solutions and private client services to companies across the region, nationally and internationally.

Reliance Partners

Chattanooga, Tenn.-based commercial insurance provider, Reliance Partners, is expanding in the Midwest by opening a new office in the Chicago area. Edgar Mercado will lead the new Chicago office.

Mercado started his career at Reliance in Chattanooga and has emerged as a leader. A Chicago native, he is familiar with the area and anticipates rapid growth in the Midwest market.

Reliance Partners has locations in Chattanooga; Birmingham, Ala.; Chicago; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Victoria, Texas.

Hilb Group, BKC Insurance Agency

The Hilb Group LLC (THG) has acquired BKC Insurance Agency (BKC), based in Cheboygan, Mich.

In addition to Cheboygan, BKC has an additional location in Indian River, Mich. The agency provides property/casualty and employee benefits solutions for businesses and individuals, including specialized programs for farms and other agricultural services in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.

BKC’s associates, including managing partners, Joseph Breed, Ken Pletcher and Pete Patrick, will join THG and continue to service clients from their existing offices.

The acquisition of BKC expands THG’s geographic footprint in the Midwest and is BKC THG’s 39th acquisition since 2009.

The Hilb Group is headquartered in Richmond, Va., and is a portfolio company of Boston-based private equity firm, Abry Partners.

Evergreen, Pro Surety Bond

Evergreen Insurance & Risk Management has acquired the assets Pro Surety Bond Inc. of Las Vegas, Nev.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Pro Surety Bond delivers web-based insurance solutions with a focus on performance and surety bond services throughout the U.S.

Evergreen Insurance is a national independent insurance agency headquartered in Monsey, N.Y.

XPT Group, WSS, West-Pro

A new insurance distribution partnership XPT Group reports it has acquired WSS, a Plano, Texas, wholesale broker and managing general agency (MGA) including Western Security Surplus Insurance Brokers Inc. and its managing general underwriting program division West-Pro.

Terms were not disclosed.

WSS serves retail agencies through placement of general liability, package liability, difference in conditions (DIC), property and other policies through binding authority contracts with U.S. and Lloyd’s markets and through open market wholesale brokerage.

WSS is licensed in 20 states with producers located in Texas, California and Florida.

West-Pro is a provider of coverage for bar and taverns through wholesale insurance brokers in over a dozen states.

XPT was formed by industry veterans Tom Ruggieri, the former CEO of Swett & Crawford along with Jeff Heath, who founded Heath XS before selling it to Hallmark and Mark Smith, formerly an executive with RT Specialty, AmWINS and Stewart Smith.

XPT is backed by investors led by B.P. Marsh & Partners, the London-based specialist private equity investor in early stage insurance and financial services companies.

WSS was formed in 1981 by Richard Polizzi, who will step down as the chairman of WSS but remain with WSS to launch a new program that is already under development.

Polizzi’s nephew, Kyle Stevens, took over as president of WSS in 2008 and obtained majority interest of WSS in 2014, and will remain as president of WSS and West-Pro after the acquisition by XPT.

WSS will continue to operate under its established brand name.

Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty, Confimex Services Insurance

Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty Inc., based in Boca Raton, Fla., has acquired Confimex Services Insurance, headquartered in Tomball, Texas.

For eight years, Confimex has provided the Tomball and Waller, Texas, areas, with auto, home, health, commercial and life insurance products and services.

Confimex will be joining Seeman Holtz’s Primera Capital team in Texas.

With the addition of Confimex Services Insurance, Seeman Holtz has acquired 21 agencies this year.