Wholesale Insurance Brokers AmWINS, Colemont Merge

AmWINS Group, Inc. and Colemont Insurance Brokers today announced that the two companies will be combined to form a specialty insurance distributor placing more than $4.8 billion in annual premiums with over 1,800 employees in 16 countries worldwide.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The combined firm will be led by Steve DeCarlo, CEO; Skip Cooper, president; James Drinkwater, president, U.S. Brokerage Division; Sam Fleet, president, Group Benefits Division; Michael Lapeyrouse, underwriting division leader and president, The American Equity Underwriters, Inc.; and Surinder Beerh, CEO, Colemont Global Group.

The combined organization will operate under the AmWINS Group, Inc. name and will be composed of four divisions:

• AmWINS Brokerage which distributes property, casualty, and financial services products through retail brokerage clients
• AmWINS Underwriting which is composed of several niche underwriting programs where we have contractual authority from various insurance carriers to underwrite, bind, issue and administer insurance policies on their behalf
• AmWINS Group Benefits which designs, distributes and administers specialty group insurance products through retail insurance brokerage clients
• Colemont Global Group, the company’s International Division, which operates as a full service, worldwide insurance and reinsurance brokerage network headquartered in London with over 25 offices located in 16 countries

“We are gratified and excited to bring the talent of AmWINS and Colemont together,” said M. Steven DeCarlo, CEO of AmWINS. “Not only does this combination strengthen our geographic footprint, but more importantly, we have expanded the expertise and capabilities available to our clients. The combination results in broadened placement expertise, deepened collaboration and an overall ability to offer more solutions to our retail customers with an enhanced distribution system for our markets.”

The combined organization will have access to more than 1,000 specialty lines markets and programs, as well as in-house underwriting facilities and group benefits products.

“From the beginning, the two firms have had similar cultures – strongly founded in being independent and doing what is best for the client,” says Gene Eisenmann, founder of Colemont. “Bringing the two firms together provides an opportunity to combine the best talent in the industry with access to the most diverse product solutions and unparalleled relationships with insurance carriers and markets.”

The combination with Colemont marks AmWINS’ first foray into the international insurance marketplace.

Macquarie Capital Advisors acted as financial advisor to Colemont Insurance Brokers.

Based in Charlotte, N,C., AmWINS operates through more than 45 offices across the United States and handles premium placements in excess of $3.5 billion dollars annually.

Founded in 1992, Colemont Insurance Brokers is home to 700 insurance professionals across the globe, who together placed over $1.3 billion in gross premium last year.

The firms have set-up a Web site for ongoing information on the integration of the two companies.

Source: AmWINS, Colemont