Business Moves

Markel, Hiscox

Insurer Markel has acquired the rights to American Live Stock, the animal mortality business of Hiscox Insurance Co. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the companies said it would close the transaction by October 1.

The transaction, which includes the rights to the American Live Stock and Harding & Harding names, and calls for Markel to assist Hiscox with its run-off.

Several key members of the Hiscox team are expected to join Markel as part of their Equine & Livestock division. Markel’s Livestock team will be based in Geneva, Illinois, but the equine business acquired from Hiscox will be handled by Markel’s divisions in Richmond, Virginia and Lexington, Kentucky.

ACE, Rain and Hail

Insurer ACE will pay $1.1 billion to acquire the outstanding common stock of Iowa-based Rain and Hail Insurance Service Inc., the second-largest crop insurance underwriter in the U.S. and Canada. ACE already owns roughly 20 percent of Rain and Hail’s stock. Upon completion of the deal, Rain and Hail will operate as a separate and distinct franchise within ACE Westchester.

The transaction is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval and is expected to be completed by the end of 2010.

Gremesco of Florida, PRS

New Jersey-based Professional Risk Solutions (PRS), a wholesale insurance broker, has purchased the assets of Gremesco of Florida, LLC, one of seven members of the Gremesco group of companies.

All of the other offices of wholesaler Gremesco remain in business and are not affected by the Florida transaction. These include Gremesco’s headquarters in Bridgeport, Conn. along with its offices in Manhattan, Cortlandt Manor and Brewster, New York; Freehold, New Jersey, and North Arlington, Massachusetts.

The Florida acquisition expands Professional Risk Solutions’ presence within the southern U.S. marketplace.

Chris Goettelmann, who headed the Gremesco of Florida operation, has joined PRS as an executive vice president and as manager for the firm’s new Palm Beach Gardens office.

Dana Molina has also joined PRS as an assistant broker.

PRS is headquartered in Warren, New Jersey, with branch offices in Florida and Pennsylvania.

Gremesco, established in 1993, serves retail brokers and agents in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.

Keystone Insurers

Keystone Insurers Group, with more than 215 franchise partners in six states, said it will expand into Tennessee early next year. The privately held company is owned by its employees and partners in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

Executive Vice President Colin Buzzard, said the expansion should begin the first quarter of 2011 with around 15 “pioneer” partners. “That select group will set the direction for Keystone in Tennessee and will dictate future partner opportunities. We place great confidence in that initial group. They are ultimately the ones who bring the best together,” he said.

With its model, Keystone has grown from 16 to 215 franchise partners – all, for now, in Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern states..

Buzzard said that in anticipation of next year’s entry into Tennessee, Keystone has been in contact with the Insurors of Tennessee, the agents’ association.