Business Moves
Applied Underwriters, Centauri Insurance
Applied Underwriters has completed its acquisition of Centauri Specialty Insurance Co. and Centauri National Insurance Co., based in Sarasota, Florida.
Florida, Louisiana and Texas regulators have approved the transaction.
The Centauri companies sell home and commercial property/casualty insurance through independent agents and brokers in Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas. They also offer private flood insurance in Florida, Hawaii and South Carolina.
Applied Underwriters acquired Centauri Specialty Managers on March 31, 2020 from its primary shareholder AXA/XL, and third party administrator Siebels-Bruce.
As part its purchase of CSM, Applied Underwriters also had an option to buy the Centauri holding company’s two insurance carriers Centauri Specialty Insurance Co. and Centauri National Insurance Co., a deal it has now completed.
Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, Applied operates throughout the U.S., UK, and EU.
StonePoint, Insight, Corelogic
Property data and analytics firm CoreLogic has agreed to be acquired by two private equity firms for about $6 billion.
Funds managed by Stone Point Capital and Insight Partners are set to snatch up all outstanding shares of CoreLogic for $80 per share.
CoreLogic’s board of directors unanimously approved the transaction. Plans call for closing the transaction in the 2021 second quarter, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
The agreed upon price reflects a 51 percent premium to CoreLogic’s share price on June 25, 2020, which was around the time it initially met with other investors to discuss an unsolicited bid to take the California-based real estate data company private.
CoreLogic’s customers include insurance carriers, financial institutions and government agencies.
Plans call for financing the transaction through a combination of committed equity financing provided by funds managed by Stone Point Capital and Insight Partners, as well as committed debt financing provided by J.P. Morgan Securities LLC.
Curley Associates, Robert L. Haley Agency Inc.
Curley Associates, an insurance agency based in Sanford, Maine, has acquired Robert L. Haley Agency Inc. of Gray, Maine.
According to Curley, the Gray location will remain open at this time with key staff in place.
Curley Associates offers personal and business insurance solutions while serving the states of Maine and New Hampshire.
Curley Associates is a member agency of the Satellite Agency Network Group Inc., an alliance of independent insurance agencies in the Northeast. Robert L. Haley Agency Inc. was a SAN member agency for more than 10 years prior to the acquisition.
The Hilb Group LLC, Moran, Moran, & Dauphin Inc.
The Hilb Group LLC has acquired New York-based Moran, Moran, & Dauphin Inc.
MMDI primarily provides property/casualty insurance products mostly for personal lines, with concentrations in homeowners and personal auto.
As a part of the transaction, the MMDI leadership team of Anthony Moran and Ryan Dauphin, along with their associates, will join THG’s tri-state operations and continue to work out of their existing location in Auburn, N.Y.
THG is a property/casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and advisory firm headquartered in Richmond, Va. It is a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm.
Risk Strategies, FBA National
Risk Strategies, a privately held, national insurance brokerage and risk management firm, has acquired FBA National, a specialist in developing employee benefits solutions that align with an organization’s goals and workforce needs. FBA National was represented by MidCap Advisors in the transaction.
Headquartered in Garden City, N.Y., FBA National tailors fringe benefit packages for clients seeking compliance with wage parity, living wage and other similar regulatory structures.
This acquisition adds to existing expertise in core home health care benefits programs gained by Risk Strategies in its 2016 purchase of Long Island, N.Y.-based TSG Financial.
As FBA has expanded, it has added property and casualty lines to its offerings to meet the additional needs of its client base.
Risk Strategies offers risk management advice as well as insurance and reinsurance placement for property/casualty, health care and employee benefits risks.
The Hilb Group LLC, William H. Connolly & Co. LLC
The Hilb Group LLC has acquired New Jersey-based William H. Connolly & Co. LLC.
WHC is currently owned and run by William H. Connolly Jr. WHC operates as an insurance and risk management brokerage, providing primarily property/casualty insurance products to a variety of businesses, healthcare organizations, educational institutions, professional firms, not-for-profit and social service agencies, individuals and families.
As a part of the transaction, William H. Connolly Jr. and his associates will join THG’s tri-state operations, will be doing business as William H. Connolly & Co. and will continue to work out of their existing location in Montclair, N.J.
THG is a property/casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and advisory firm headquartered in Richmond, Va. It is a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm.
High Street Insurance Partners, Vested Risk Strategies
High Street Insurance Partners, an insurance brokerage platform of the private equity firm, Huron Capital, has acquired Vested Risk Strategies Inc., based in Hillsdale, Michigan.
Vested specializes in alternative risk financing arrangements including captive insurance programs.
HSIP, an ExecFactor platform, is headquartered Traverse City, Michigan.
Based in Detroit, Huron Capital is a private equity firm with a long history of growing lower middle-market companies.
Higginbotham, Vaughan Insurance Group
Higginbotham, an independent insurance firm based in Fort Worth, Texas, and Vaughan Insurance Group, a commercial insurance firm in Tulsa, Oklahoma, have merged operations.
This gives Higginbotham a second location in Oklahoma, where it opened its first out-of-state office in Oklahoma City in 2017. Higginbotham now has offices in nine states.
Higginbotham partnered with Vaughan Insurance Group to help expand and continue building its practice in Oklahoma. Vaughan Insurance Group’s team will collaborate with Higginbotham’s existing Oklahoma City office to broaden its products and services.
Vaughan Insurance Group serves 850 commercial accounts with a concentration in member association professional liability insurance, oil and gas insurance, and construction surety.
David Vaughan was named a managing director of the merged entity. He will continue leading the Tulsa operation now known as Vaughan Insurance Group, A Higginbotham Company. Vaughn, along with Higginbotham-Oklahoma Managing Directors Gray Holden and Chris Lavigne, will work to build the combined firm’s presence in Oklahoma.
Texan Insurance, Suzanne Brown Agency
Texan Insurance has acquired Houston-based Suzanne Brown Agency LLC in an all-cash transaction.
Suzanne Brown Agency is an independent insurance agency that specializes in personal and commercial insurance needs.
Suzanne Brown and her 11-member staff will join Texan Insurance and will continue to work out of their existing location in the Houston Energy Corridor.
This acquisition is Texan’s third in three years and brings its total employee count to over 50.
Texan Insurance is a family owned and operated insurance agency serving greater Houston.
Colonial Claims, Premier Adjusting and Catastrophe Services
Colonial Claims LLC, a nationwide independent insurance claims service companies, has acquired Tampa area business Premier Adjusting and Catastrophe Services Inc., a first and third-party claims handler for residential and commercial losses.
Premier’s core team of 12 employees – including Eileen O’Brien and Brian Auger – and more than 20 contract desk adjusters will continue to serve their customers out of the Oldsmar, Fla., office.
The companies will work together to service any type of property, liability, specialty and catastrophe claims nationwide.
Colonial is based in Dunedin, Fla., and Lexington, Ky.
Arthur J. Gallagher, Air-Sur
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Ormond Beach, Fla.-based Air-Sur, Inc.
Air-Sur is a retail insurance broker serving clients in the aviation and aerospace industry.
Thomas K. Coughlin and his associates will continue to operate from their current location under the direction of Scott Firestone, head of Gallagher’s Southwest region retail property/casualty brokerage operations.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, is headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.
The company has operations in 49 countries and offers client service capabilities in more than 150 countries around the world through a network of correspondent brokers and consultants.
Heffernan, Micor
Heffernan Insurance Brokers has acquired Micor Insurance Brokers in San Jose, Calif.
The Micor San Jose office is Heffernan’s 10th California location.
Corrie Foos, president of Micor, and his team, joined Heffernan.
Foos has more than 45 years of experience in the insurance industry.
Before joining Heffernan, Micor was a part of the cluster Archway Insurance Brokers.
Heffernan is an independent insurance brokerage headquartered in Walnut Creek, Calif.