Business Moves

July 1, 2024

Marsh McLennan Agency, Fisher Brown Bottrell Insurance

Marsh McLennan Agency completed its purchase of Fisher Brown Bottrell Insurance Inc. from Trustmark National Bank for about $316 million.

All employees of Jackson, Mississippi-based Fisher Brown Bottrell will join Marsh McLennan Agency and continue working from their existing 10 locations.

The M&A agreement was announced in April.

Fisher Brown Bottrell, founded in 1936, specializes in providing commercial property/casualty insurance, surety and employee benefits services to businesses and individuals across the Southeast.

RiverStone International, Electric Insurance

RiverStone International closed on its acquisition of Electric Insurance Co. and its two subsidiaries, Elm Insurance Co. and Electric Insurance Agency.

Electric Insurance is a Beverly, Massachusetts-domiciled insurer licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Canada. Its owner, General Electric (GE), decided to sell the company for $333 million and exit the insurance business as part of its major restructuring begun in 2021, under which GE transformed itself into three public companies focused on aviation, energy and healthcare.

RiverStone International, which specializes in acquiring and reinsuring legacy and discontinued businesses, will manage Electric’s legacy liability portfolios but will withdraw from personal lines in all states.

Electric Insurance wrote the commercial insurance including workers’ compensation, auto and general and product liability exclusively for GE, and personal lines insurance including auto, home, yacht and personal excess liability primarily for GE employees, retirees and their families. As of Jan. 1, 2024, Electric no longer insured GE’s commercial business.

Electric has created a runoff plan for its personal lines business. The plan includes a multi-state renewal rights transaction agreement with Plymouth Rock Assurance, a Massachusetts-based insurer with experience in handling 15 renewal rights and replacement carrier transactions. Plymouth Rock writes in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Elm Insurance Co. was formed by GE in 1983 as a Vermont captive insurer to provide Electric Insurance with management, accounting and other services. Electric Insurance Agency was formed in 1992 primarily to place business with the National Flood Program.

Lenox Advisors, Martin/Wight & Co.

Lenox Advisors Inc., an affiliate of NFP, an Aon company, acquired Martin/Wight & Co., a Maryland-based insurance and financial services firm that specializes in serving medical professionals.

Founders Brian Martin and Ted Wight will join Lenox as partners.

Based in the Baltimore area, M&W primarily serves physicians, dentists, and medical centers, providing executive benefits as well as wealth management, financial planning, disability insurance, voluntary benefits, ancillary benefits, individual and group life insurance, and long-term care.

New York-based Lenox Advisors is a wholly owned subsidiary of NFP Corp., a financial services holding company. Lenox offers securities and investment advisory services. NFP was acquired by global insurance broker Aon for $13 billion in April.

NSM Insurance Group, Strategic Underwriters International

Global specialty insurance broker NSM Insurance Group has completed its acquisition of Strategic Underwriters International (SUI).

Based in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, SUI is a managing general agent (MGA) in the casualty facultative reinsurance marketplace. SUI offers facultative casualty reinsurance for several lines of business, including general liability, automobile liability, excess/umbrella liability and workers’ compensation.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

NSM has more than 25 specialty insurance programs and brands around the world focused on collector cars; student health and travel; social services and behavioral health; addiction treatment; coastal condominiums; towing and garage; trucking; sports and fitness; professional liability for contractors, architects and engineers; habitational; commercial and residential contractors; medical stop-loss and managed care; staffing; and workers’ compensation

Hub International, The Essex Agency

Hub International Ltd. acquired The Essex Agency Inc. of Essex Junction, Vermont.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Essex Agency is an independent insurance agency offering personal and commercial insurance, including for the construction and real estate industries, which are among Hub’s specialty areas.

David Holton, president, and John Handy, vice president, and agency team will join Hub International New England.

The agency will be referred to as The Essex Agency, a Hub International company.

Headquartered in Chicago, Hub has more than 17,000 employees in offices located throughout North America.

Hilb Group, German American Insurance

German American Bancorp closed the sale of the assets of its wholly-owned subsidiary German American Insurance (GAI) to Hilb Group in an all-cash transaction of $40 million.

As part of the transaction, German American Insurance will continue to operate throughout southern Indiana and Kentucky under the name “German American Insurance – A Hilb Group Company” and will remain under the leadership of Diana Wilderman, president of German American Insurance.

In addition to retaining all GAI team members, an ongoing referral relationship to Hilb Group will provide German American Bank customers access to insurance brokerage services.

Brown & Brown Inc., McNamara Company

Brown & Brown Inc. has acquired the assets of McNamara Company.

McNamara Company is a family-owned agency that has been servicing customers in all 50 states for four generations. Established in 1970 in Minnesota, McNamara Company provides a full-service suite of insurance solutions for businesses, families and individuals.

The McNamara team will join the Brown & Brown office in Phoenix and report to Scott Jones, the leader of the Phoenix team.

DOXA Insurance, CPH Insurance

DOXA Insurance acquired CPH Insurance, a Chicago-based MGA providing professional liability products for mental health, allied health and healthcare professionals.

Founded in 2000 by founder and President Phil Hodson to specifically serve the mental health sector, CPH Insurance provides insurance products to over 250,000 insureds across the U.S. CPH Insurance launched its first online quote in 2008 and today sells a majority of policies online through straight-through-processing technology.

CPH also partners with organizations to utilize a proprietary underwriting platform that it says enables full policy life cycle management and digital distribution.

Relation Insurance Services, First Insurance

Relation Insurance Services acquired the assets of First Insurance, an affiliate of FirstBank Inc. First Insurance, based in Durant, Oklahoma, offers commercial and personal insurance with specialties in farm and ranch.

Relation Insurance said in an announcement it is actively seeking partnerships to expand its offerings, industry expertise, and geographic footprint.

Marsh McLennan Agency, Perkins Insurance Agencies

Marsh McLennan Agency, a subsidiary of Marsh, acquired Perkins Insurance Agencies, an Abilene, Texas-based independent agency.

Founded in 1977, Perkins primarily provides commercial property and casualty and personal lines coverage to West Texas-based businesses, non-profits, and families, with specialized expertise in the oil and gas, trucking, farm and ranch, and restaurant industries.

All Perkins employees, including Mark Perkins, CEO, will continue working out of their existing Abilene and Eastland, Texas, offices.

ALKEME, Hardwick Insurance

ALKEME acquired Hardwick Insurance, a commercial and personal specialist located in Lafayette, Louisiana.

ALKEME is a full-service insurance agency providing businesses and individuals with an extensive array of commercial and personal insurance, employee and executive benefits, retirement and wealth management services.

ALKEME is based in Ladera Ranch, California.

CLC Insurance Agency, ARCW Insurance

Clearwater, Florida-based CLC Insurance Agency has merged with ARCW Insurance, a Leavitt Group affiliate.

CLC, founded four years ago by Crystal Callahan Lawson, now Callahan-Estes, will relocate to ARCW’s Pinellas Park offices.

Callahan-Estes will serve as a commercial insurance advisor. She has more than 20 years’ experience in the business.

ARCW Insurance was founded in 1989 and joined Utah-based Leavitt Group in 2021.

Hub International, Combined HCM

Hub International Ltd. acquired the assets of Combined Benefits Inc., Combined Commercial Insurance Services LLC., and Combined Employer Services Inc.

Donny Woo, CEO, and Jonathan Zhao, vice president of payroll, and the Combined HCM team will join Hub LAOC. Combined HCM will be referred to as Combined HCM, a Hub International company.

The businesses, collectively known as Combined HCM, are located in Diamond Bar, California. Combined HCM is a human capital management broker helping clients and manage human resources, recruiting, payroll, benefits and commercial insurance.

Chicago, Illinois-based Hub is an insurance broker and financial services firm providing risk management, insurance, employee benefits, retirement and wealth management products and services.

ALKEME, InsurePro

Ladera Ranch, California-based ALKEME acquired InsurePro, located in Draper, Utah.

InsurePro is a personal and commercial specialist.