Business Moves

Kemper, Infinity

Kemper Corp. and Infinity Property and Casualty Corp. reported that the companies’ respective shareholders approved proposals related to the agreement announced in February under which Kemper will acquire Infinity.

According to the companies, the proposals received overwhelming shareholder support, with more than 99 percent of each company’s shares voting to approve.

As a result, Chicago-based insurer Kemper has agreed to acquire Birmingham-based Infinity Property and Casualty Corp. in a cash and stock transaction valued at roughly $1.4 billion, or $129 per share, creating an insurer with increased scale in the nonstandard auto insurance market.

The pending transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018.

Infinity sells auto insurance in the specialty, nonstandard segment. It has roughly $1.4 billion in 2017 direct written premiums, 88 percent of which is nonstandard auto and the rest commercial vehicle and classic car business.

For 2017, it reported operating net income of $44 million – a combined ratio of 95.2.

Kemper offers insurance for home, auto, life, health and valuables.

After completion of the transaction, Infinity’s senior management team will be integrated into the newly-combined organization.

Additionally, at closing, Kemper will increase its current board of directors by one seat and select a director from Infinity to join the Kemper board of directors.

The Evans Agency, Richardson & Stout Insurance

The Evans Agency LLC has acquired the business of Richardson & Stout Insurance of Wellsville, N.Y.

Terms of the deal were not announced.

The Evans Agency is a wholly owned insurance subsidiary of community financial services company Evans Bancorp Inc.

All current R&S employees will join The Evans Agency, including co-owners Richard Ewell, Ian Whitehouse and Aaron Whitehouse. The agency will be known as Richardson & Stout Insurance, a division of The Evans Agency, and will remain in its current location in Wellsville.

The Evans Agency LLC has grown from a family-owned insurance agency to a multi-location professional insurance and risk management operation providing personal, commercial and employee benefits solutions throughout Western New York. Richardson & Stout represents the 16th insurance acquisition completed by Evans.

The roots of Richardson & Stout Insurance can be traced to the beginning of the last century, starting with The Brown Agency that was founded in 1903 and the Forrest H. Allen Agency that was formed in 1929. After several mergers and acquisitions, the Brown & Stout Agency and Allen, Dygert, & Hauser Inc. merged operations to become Richardson & Stout Insurance in 1998.

Salem Five, Fabri & Rourke Insurance

Salem Five has acquired Fabri & Rourke Insurance.

Salem Five is a commercial and personal insurance provider based in Salem, Mass. Fabri & Rourke Insurance is headquartered in Georgetown, Mass., and was founded in 2000 by William Fabri Jr. and Kevin Rourke. In 2005, Rourke, who now leads Salem Five’s commercial banking division, sold his share of the business to Fabri, who will continue to lead the agency.

This is the second Georgetown-based acquisition for Salem Five, having acquired Georgetown Bank in 2017. Salem Five has recently completed several additional acquisitions, acquiring the Otis Brown Insurance Agency in 2016 and Cape Ann Insurance earlier this year.

Fabri & Rourke will relocate its four employees to Salem Five’s Georgetown location following the acquisition. The agency will now be known as Fabri & Rourke Insurance, a division of Salem Five Insurance LLC, and will focus exclusively on commercial insurance.

Risk Strategies, Costello Benefits Group

Risk Strategies has acquired Costello Benefits Group.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Risk Strategies is a privately held, national insurance brokerage and risk management firm. CBG Benefits Inc. is a full-service employee benefits brokerage firm headquartered in Woburn, Mass.

This acquisition is part of a broader strategy for Risk Strategies in the last year, in which it has brought three separate, independent specialty agencies and brokerages into its operations that are focused exclusively on employee health and welfare program challenges.

Risk Strategies’ employee benefits practice focuses on issues facing employers in industries from regulatory change and uncertainty to carrier consolidation, rising costs and coverage upheavals.

Founded in 1999, CBG Benefits helps human resources and corporate finance departments on a number of fronts, including development and implementation of health and welfare benefits programs, workplace wellness programs, regulatory compliance, employee communication and benefits technology.

The Hilb Group, Bentson Insurance Group

The Hilb Group LLC has acquired New York-based Bentson Insurance Group.

Bentson Insurance Group is a property/casualty insurance agency specializing in home and business insurance as well as group benefits insurance. With its office in Staten Island, this acquisition will be the fifth location in THG’s New Jersey/New York region.

Bob Bentson, principal of Bentson Insurance Group, will continue to lead the agency’s associates under its current name following the acquisition.

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

AssuredPartners, Peoples Insurance Agency

Lake Mary, Florida-based AssuredPartners Inc. has expanded into Iowa with the acquisition of the Peoples Insurance Agency, headquartered in Waverly.

PIA is a family owned and operated insurance advisor in Iowa. The staff of 88 will continue operations under Market President Josh Whitinger.

AssuredPartners Western Regions President Randy Larsen said PIA complements its transportation business with expertise in the specialty trucking marketplace.

Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty, First Choice Insurance Agency

Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty Inc., based in Boca Raton, Fla., has acquired First Choice Insurance Agency Inc., headquartered in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

First Choice Insurance has been serving the Poplar Bluff, Dexter, Cape Girardeau, Wappapello, Doniphan, Neelyville, Perryville and Caruthersville area for more than 20 years. Led by Steve Phillips and his team, First Choice will strengthen Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty’s foothold in the Midwest.

Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty Inc. continues to target independent agencies for geographic expansion and growth throughout the U.S.

North Risk Partners, Bearence Management Group

Minnesota’s North Risk Partners has merged with Bearence Management Group, an independent insurance brokerage firm with more than 80 employees across three Midwest locations – Mendota Heights, Minn., Des Moines, Iowa, and Omaha, Neb. – and a mix of product and service offerings similar to North Risk’s.

This new partnership grows the merged group to more than $50 million in revenue, 265 employees and 21 locations across three states.

North Risk Partners CEO Chris Meidt remains CEO of the merged company, and Bearence’s managing partners, Dan Seemuth and Stan Hamann, have joined North Risk’s executive leadership team.

Seemuth and Hamann have maintained their equity in the company and have also taken on division president roles. Seemuth is overseeing the Des Moines and Omaha locations, and Hamann is responsible for Mendota Heights.

For the last three years, North Risk and Bearence have been majority owned by the same capital investment group, BroadStreet Partners.

Bearence has become a division of North Risk Partners, adopting the North Risk Partners brand as its own.

NI Holdings, Direct Auto Insurance

North Dakota-based NI Holdings Inc. has agreed to purchase Direct Auto Insurance Co., headquartered in Chicago.

Direct Auto underwrites specialty automobile insurance in Illinois through independent agents. Joe Fitzgerald, the president of Direct Auto and a principal shareholder, will continue to manage the Direct Auto insurance operations.

Closing of the deal is expected later this year subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

Philo Smith Capital Corp. served as Direct Auto’s financial advisor and Beermann Pritikin Mirabelli Swerdlove LLP as legal advisor. Dorsey & Whitney LLP was NI Holdings’ legal advisor in this transaction.

NI Holdings Inc. is the stock holding company of Nodak Insurance Co. Nodak Insurance also manages Battle Creek Mutual Insurance Co. and reinsures 100 percent of the risk on all insurance policies issued by Battle Creek.

Risk Strategies, Cincinnati Intermediaries

National insurance brokerage and risk management firm, Risk Strategies, has acquired Ohio-based Cincinnati Intermediaries LLC, a specialty wholesale brokerage and managing general underwriter focused on professional liability. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The company’s wholesale operation does business as Cincinnati Intermediaries, and its MGU operates under the name ALTRU. The company works with retail agencies and select wholesale brokerages.

Cincinnati Intermediaries places insurance on a wholesale basis with nearly 50 insurance carriers. Risk Strategies has previously added specialized wholesale and MGU capabilities through its acquisition of Advanced Insurance Underwriters and Atlass Marine Insurance, both based in South Florida.

The majority of Cincinnati Intermediaries’ customers are located in the Midwest and the South, though California, Massachusetts and Texas are also represented in its book of business.

The acquisition of Cincinnati Intermediaries brings added distribution in areas such as errors and omissions, directors and officers, cyber, architects and engineers, financial institutions, lawyers and non-profits.

Risk Strategies is a privately held, national firm.