Business Moves
NSM, Embrace Pet Insurance
Program specialist NSM Insurance Group has acquired Embrace Pet Insurance, a Cleveland-based national provider of pet health insurance for dogs and cats.
Embrace offers an accident and illness insurance plan that is underwritten by American Modern Insurance Group in all states except Florida, where policies are underwritten by American Southern Home Insurance.
Embrace’s current management team will continue to operate the business from its headquarters in Cleveland, under the existing Embrace Pet Insurance brand. Embrace has more than 100 employees.
NSM Insurance Group is a subsidiary of White Mountains Insurance Group.
Marsh & McLennan, Jardine Lloyd Thompson
Marsh & McLennan Cos. completed its $5.6 billion acquisition of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc.
The deal was first announced in September 2018.
Many of JLT’s top executives have been named to leadership positions at Marsh & McLennan, Marsh, Guy Carpenter and Mercer including former JLT CEO Dominic Burke, who joins Marsh & McLennan as vice chairman and a member of the executive committee.
The JLT name will largely be absorbed into Marsh except it will be used for a new unit, Marsh-JLT Specialty, which was formed by combining the specialty teams of both firms. In addition to becoming vice chairman of Marsh & McLennan Cos., Burke is now chairman of Marsh-JLT Specialty. Lucy Clarke, former CEO of JLT Specialty, is now president of Marsh-JLT Specialty.
Brown & Brown Insurance Agency of Virginia, LRS&C
Brown & Brown Insurance Agency of Virginia Inc., a subsidiary of Brown & Brown Inc., has acquired substantially all of the assets of LRS&C.
Following the acquisition, the LRS&C team will join Brown & Brown’s existing Manassas, Va., office and will operate under the leadership of Brown & Brown Insurance Agency of Virginia President Bill Strachan.
Brown & Brown Inc. is an insurance brokerage firm providing risk management to individuals and businesses.
LRS&C provides a variety of personal and business insurance products and services to clients in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S.
Brown & Brown Metro, Smith Insurance Associates
Brown & Brown Metro LLC, a subsidiary of Brown & Brown Inc., has acquired substantially all of the assets of Smith Insurance Associates Inc.
Smith Insurance is a family owned agency with more than 35 years of experience, providing a variety of business insurance products to its customers with a focus on multifamily residential, hospitality and commercial structures.
Following the acquisition, the Smith Insurance team will continue to operate from its office in Spring House, Penn., as a branch office of Brown & Brown’s Mt. Laurel, N.J., office, which is led by Brown & Brown Metro Vice President Billy Roberts. Roberts reports to Rich Knudson, regional president of Brown & Brown.
Brown & Brown is an insurance brokerage firm providing risk management to individuals and businesses.
Alera Group, Broad Reach Benefits
Alera Group, a national insurance firm, has acquired Broad Reach Benefits LLC, effective February 1, 2019.
Broad Reach Benefits, headquartered in Madison, N.J., offers a range of employee benefits services and assists its clients by overseeing the employee benefits process. The firm focuses on bringing actuarial analysis, reporting metrics throughout the year and technology to middle market and small employers.
Following the acquisition, all Broad Reach Benefits employees will continue operating out of the firm’s existing locations in New Jersey and Tennessee under the name Broad Reach Benefits, an Alera Group Agency LLC.
Alera Group was formed in early 2017 and is based in Deerfield, Ill.
Corvus Insurance
Boston-based Corvus Insurance, an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven insurtech company offering smart commercial insurance policies, has opened an office in Dallas.
The Dallas office is the company’s first in the southern U.S. The announcement comes three months after Corvus established its first west coast office, which was announced in January.
The company now has locations in New York City, Los Angeles and Dallas, in addition to its headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts.
Corvus Insurance is an insurtech managing general agency (MGA) offering smart commercial insurance policies paired with easy-to-use tools to reduce risk, prevent claims and improve the commercial insurance experience.
Smart cyber insurance policies are distributed by Corvus in partnership with Hudson Insurance Group.
The company’s smart cargo insurance policies are distributed in partnership with Argo Insurance Group. Policies are distributed through major insurance brokerage firms across the United States.
Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty, Prey Insurance Services
Florida-based Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty announced the asset acquisition of Prey Insurance Services LLC, headquartered in Shawano, Wisconsin.
Led by Mike Prey and his team, Prey Insurance Services has been serving the state of Wisconsin for more than 20 years. Prey Insurance offers personal and commercial insurance, from home and life insurance to auto and theft.
Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty said the acquisition strengthens its foothold in the Midwest under its Vincent Urban, Walker division.
Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty continues to target high-quality independent agencies for geographic expansion and continued growth throughout the U.S.
Hub International, M.B.I. Group
Hub International Limited (Hub), a global insurance brokerage, has acquired the assets of M.B.I. Group, LLC. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
M.B.I. Group is an independent insurance firm based in Flowood, Mississippi, offering personal insurance products, including real estate, auto, umbrella and life insurance products.
Michael Bishop, president and sole owner of M.B.I. Group, will join Hub Gulf South. Bishop will report to Shaun Norris, president of Hub Gulf South.
Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Hub International Limited is a leading full-service global insurance broker providing property and casualty, life and health, employee benefits, investment and risk management products and services.
Marsh & McLennan, Lovitt & Touche
Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC has acquired Phoenix, Ariz.-based Lovitt & Touche.
Charlie Touche, Lovitt & Touche CEO since 1998, will lead MMA’s operations in Arizona and the firm will operate as Lovitt & Touche, a Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC company. Following the transaction, Lovitt & Touche will add 181 colleagues to MMA from its Phoenix, Tucson and Las Vegas, Nevada, offices.
Lovitt & Touche provides commercial property and casualty, personal lines and employee health and benefits solutions.
Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC is a subsidiary of Marsh established in 2008 to serve as a platform for the middle market. MMA offers commercial property, casualty, personal lines and employee benefits.
Tokio Marine, NAS
Tokio Marine HCC has acquired Encino, Calif.-based NAS Insurance Services LLC.
The acquisition of NAS represents the continuance of a partnership between NAS and the Tokio Marine Group.
Tokio Marine HCC and its sister company, Tokio Marine Kiln, have worked with NAS since 1975, and Tokio Marine Kiln had owned 49 percent of NAS since 2014.
Tokio Marine HCC will combine NAS with its existing professional lines group.
Richard Robin, who serves as CEO of NAS, will become president of Tokio Marine HCC’s professional lines group. He reports to Thomas Harmeyer, who will continue to serve the professional lines group as executive chairman.
NAS is a Lloyd’s coverholder. The business produced reported gross written premium of $176 million in 2018.
NAS employs roughly 180 people and has offices in California, New York, Chicago and Atlanta.
Tokio Marine HCC is the marketing name to describe the companies under the common ownership of HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc., a Delaware-incorporated insurance holding company.