Business Moves

Plymouth Rock Assurance, Rider Insurance Company

Plymouth Rock Assurance has agreed to expand its investment in the motorcycle insurance segment with the acquisition of Rider Insurance Company, subject to regulatory approvals.

A New Jersey-based motorcycle insurance carrier with $21 million in annual premiums, Rider Insurance was founded by a motorcycle enthusiast and has been committed to protecting fellow riders for nearly 50 years, according to a Plymouth Rock press release.

The acquisition creates an opportunity for Plymouth Rock to invest more deeply in the motorcycle insurance segment, while also allowing the company to market its auto and home insurance products to Rider customers, the release stated.

The transaction is subject to approval by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance.

Alera Group, Landmark Benefits

Alera Group, a national independent insurance agency based in Deerfield, Ill., has acquired Landmark Benefits Inc., effective July 1, 2019.

Landmark, located in Windham, N.H., is an employee benefits broker providing insurance benefits, human resource consulting, compliance and wellness to clients throughout the U.S.

All Landmark employees will continue operating out of the firm’s existing locations under the name Landmark Benefits, an Alera Group Company LLC.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., The Novick Group

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Rockville, Md.-based The Novick Group Inc.

Founded in 1987, The Novick Group is a retail property and casualty broker focused on providing insurance products and services to nonprofits and association clients throughout the U.S. Areas of specialization include complex liability and event cancellation coverages. Lou Novick, Julia Van De Wille and their associates will continue to operate from their current location under the direction of Dan Tropp, head of Gallagher’s Mid-Atlantic retail property and casualty brokerage operations.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, is headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Ill. The company has operations in 35 countries and offers client service capabilities in more than 150 countries around the world through a network of correspondent brokers and consultants.

Risk Strategies, Gerard B. Tracy Associates

Risk Strategies, a privately held, national insurance brokerage and risk management firm, has added to its employee benefits practice with the acquisition of Gerard B. Tracy Associates Inc.

Based in Fairfield, Conn., Gerard B. Tracy Associates Inc. was founded in 1948 and has a decades-long history of creating employee benefits programs for a variety of public and private entities with a specialty focus on institutions of higher education.

In addition to developing benefit programs for higher education and other types of educational institutions, Gerard B. Tracy Associate’s clients include a number of general and nonprofit organizations, largely located throughout the Northeast.

In recent years, Risk Strategies has built up its employee benefits practice groups. Acquisitions made by the firm have brought on board experts from independent specialty agencies and brokerages focused exclusively on employee health and welfare program challenges, as well as firms specializing in alternative financing, including self-funding, and the formation and management of captives.

The company has further expanded its benefits reach with the acquisition of service businesses, including an actuarial firm and a healthcare claims auditing organization.

Reliance Global Group, Altruis Benefit Consulting

Reliance Global Group Inc. has completed its acquisition of Bingham Farms, Michigan-based Altruis Benefit Consulting.

The acquisition follows a letter of intent between the parties as previously announced on May 8, 2019.

Altruis serves customers throughout Michigan, specializing in providing individual and group health insurance. Altruis generated revenue of approximately $2.5 million in 2018. The transaction was completed through a combination of $1.4 million of cash, provided by Reliance Global Holdings LLC, a company controlled by Ezra Beyman, CEO of RELI, as well as $4.1 million debt from an unaffiliated lender, and the issuance of approximately 11.9 million shares of restricted stock.

Reliance Global also announced it has completed its acquisition of Fortman Insurance Agency LLC in Ohio, a provider of personal and commercial insurance lines, as well as Southwestern Montana Insurance. Fortman and Southwestern Montana Insurance together generated $3.1 million of revenue in 2018, Reliance Global said.

High Street Insurance Partners, Ottawa Kent Insurance Agency

High Street Insurance Partners, an ExecFactor full-service insurance brokerage platform owned by private equity firm Huron Capital, has acquired Ottawa Kent Insurance Agency, an outsourced risk management and independent insurance agency with four offices in West Michigan.

Ottawa Kent has operated for more than 40 years in West Michigan, providing insurance products and services to more than 10,000 customers, with offices in Jenison, Sparta, Holland and Byron Center.

High Street plans for all Ottawa Kent principals to remain active members of the business and retain their current positions, which is expected to help ensure that existing customers continue to receive expected and expanded services.

AssuredPartners, Houston Business Insurance Agency

Florida-based AssuredPartners Inc. has acquired Houston Business Insurance Agency located in Houston, Texas.

The acquired agency’s team of five will remain under the operational leadership of Dominique Renaud.

Providing property/casualty insurance for businesses of all sizes, Houston Business Insurance Agency has estimated revenues of $1 million annually.

Headquartered in Lake Mary, Florida, AssuredPartners is led by Jim Henderson and Tom Riley.

Arthur J. Gallagher, Serna Insurance Agency

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Serna Insurance Agency, based in Humble, Texas.

Founded in 2001 by Pete and Martha Serna, Serna Insurance Agency offers private client, personal lines and commercial insurance products and services to clients throughout Texas and in surrounding states. Pete, Martha and their associates will continue to operate from their current location under the direction of Jeff Saunders, head of Gallagher’s U.S. personal lines operations. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, is headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.

Hub International, Phil Bailey & Associates

Hub International Limited has acquired the assets of Phil Bailey & Associates, P.A.

Located in Oxford, Miss., Phil Bailey & Associatesis an employee benefits brokerage firm, providing clients with employee benefit products and consulting services. Phil Bailey, owner of Phil Bailey & Associates, and team will join Hub Gulf South in Hub’s Oxford office. The brokerage was established in 1970.

Hub International Limited is committed to growing organically and through acquisitions to expand its geographic footprint and strengthen industry and product expertise.

Hub International, Inter-Mountain Retirement Partners

HUB International Ltd. has acquired the assets of Denver, Colo.-based Inter-Mountain Retirement Partners Inc.

Chad J. Larsen, president and CEO of Inter-Mountain, will join Hub Colorado.

Inter-Mountain has a second office in Salt Lake City, Utah, and provides investment and retirement plan consulting services to corporations, governmental and nonprofit organizations, as well as serving individual investment clients throughout the region and nationally.

C3 Risk & Insurance Services, Mission West

C3 Risk & Insurance Services has acquired Mission West Insurance, an Orange County, Calif.-based insurance brokerage. Mission West is an independent agency offering business, personal and employee benefits insurance services.

C3 is a California-based, privately-owned insurance brokerage.

CopperPoint, Alaska National Insurance Company

CopperPoint Insurance Cos. has agreed to acquire Alaska National Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Alaska National Insurance Co., an Alaska-domiciled workers’ compensation and commercial insurance carrier. The transaction is expected to close once customary regulatory reviews and approvals are received.

CopperPoint’s headquarters will remain in Phoenix, Ariz., while Alaska National will continue operating under its company name and will remain domiciled in Anchorage, Alaska. The combined companies will have a locally-focused footprint with 10 offices in Anchorage, Boise, Denver, Irvine, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle, Walnut Creek and Westlake Village. This enables and reinforces the companies’ shared essential philosophy of getting close to their distribution partners and their policyholder customers.

CopperPoint, a provider of workers’ comp and commercial insurance, privatized from the state of Arizona and converted to a mutual insurance company in 2013. In 2017, the company acquired Pacific Compensation Insurance Co., expanding into the California market. In 2018, CopperPoint began to offer products under the CopperPoint brand in Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. In 2019, CopperPoint adopted a new mutual insurance holding company corporate structure.

Alaska National Insurance Co. is a commercial insurance provider licensed in 26 states. The company focuses on workers’ comp, commercial property and auto, general liability, inland marine, umbrella, crime and other commercial insurance services.

As of mid-year, the company has a reported statutory surplus of roughly $550 million. In 2018, the company had gross written premium of $250 million and the combined companies will represent roughly $650 million in premium and an asset base of nearly $4.8 billion.