Business Moves

Article

Cooper Gay & Cashman, Cooper Gay Intermediaries

Independent reinsurance brokers, Cooper Gay (Holdings) Ltd., headquartered in London, renamed its U.S. domestic treaty operation Cooper Gay Intermediaries LLC.

Based in Minneapolis, Cooper Gay Intermediaries is led by newly appointed CEO James A. Brost, one of the original members of the management team. He succeeded Michael W. Cashman, who left to pursue other business interests.

Brost previously co-founded the Minneapolis-based independent reinsurance broker Collins Associates and served as vice chairman. Before that, he was with E.W. Blanch Holdings, later absorbed into Benfield Inc.

Toby Esser, chief executive of the London parent Cooper Gay (Holdings) Ltd., serves as chairman of Cooper Gay Intermediaries located at 601 Carlson Parkway in suburban Minneapolis.

ChoicePoint, Insuratec

Alpharetta, Ga.-based ChoicePoint acquired Danville, Calif.-based Insuratec Inc. Insuratec notifies automobile finance companies and mortgage lenders, on behalf of insurance clients, of material changes to insurance policies. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

The Insuratec acquisition expands ChoicePoint’s Financial Institution Reporting System (FIRSt) service, created earlier this year with the acquisition of ELIOS Inc. FIRSt is part of ChoicePoint’s portfolio of Insurance Verification Services.

The transaction is not expected to have a material impact on ChoicePoint’s financial results.

Aviva PLC, AmerUs

Aviva PLC, Britain’s largest insurance company, will take over U.S. life insurance company AmerUs Group Co. in a $2.9 billion deal that will expand its reach into the United States.

London-based Aviva will pay $69 in cash per AmerUs share, a 10 percent premium to the closing price. AmerUs is the parent company of Indianapolis Life Insurance Co.

The British company has long said it wants to expand in the United States, and the companies were linked earlier this year.

Aviva’s United States operation is based in Boston, where it has about 390 employees.

Des Moines,Iowa-based AmerUs has 1,190 workers, with about 600 based in Des Moines. Other offices are located in Topeka, Kan., Indianapolis and Woodbury, N.Y.

The company expects to save $45 million a year. Aviva will combine AmerUs with its Aviva U.S. unit, and the business will use the Aviva name. Tom Godlasky, AmerUs’ chief executive, will head the U.S. operation.

Documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicate Gregory Boal will remain as AmerUs’ chief investment officer, Brian Clark will remain as chief product officer, Mark Heitz as executive vice president of annuities and Gary McPhail, executive vice president for life insurance.

AmerUs has about $25 billion in assets compared with Aviva’s U.S. holdings of about $6 billion.

Aviva said it would raise $1.7 billion in new shares at $12.90 each to finance the cash purchase, with the remainder to be paid with debt and money it has on hand. It anticipates the acquisition will contribute $45 million in annual pre-tax cost savings. The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter.

Swiss Re

Swiss Reinsurance Co. will cut up to 2,000 jobs by the end of 2007 in a bid to improve efficiency. Primarily large offices in Zurich; London; Munich; Armonk, N.Y.; and Kansas City, Kan., will be affected.

Swiss Re had previously said it would cut about 1,500 jobs as part of its takeover of General Electric Co.’s insurance solutions unit. The takeover moved Swiss Re ahead of Munich Re as the world’s largest reinsurance provider in terms of premium.

Swiss Re said it already cut more than 250 jobs, particularly at the management level. The company will complete a second phase of cuts in the next four months, leading to a reduction of almost one-fifth of its overall work force. Swiss Re said it would achieve the job reductions through a mix of lay-offs and natural attrition.

Hub International, Standard International Underwriters

Hub International Ltd. acquired the life insurance portfolio from Standard International Underwriters Ltd. Details of the purchase by Toronto-based Hub Financial Inc. were not disclosed.

Both HUB Financial and SIU are managing general agencies operating in Canada. HUB Financial will integrate the SIU servicing activities into its existing operations.

Hub International is headquartered in Chicago.

Gresham Private Equity, Giles Insurance Brokers

Gresham, a U.K.-based mid market private equity specialist, has backed Chris Giles and the management in the management buyout of Giles Insurance Brokers Ltd., one of the UK’s fastest growing commercial insurance brokers, in a deal valued at $82.9 million.

Giles wants to build its regional network and take a leading role in the consolidation of the fragmented commercial insurance market through an organic and acquisition growth strategy. As part of the transaction, Giles secured access to additional funding lines to make further acquisitions.

The company aims to double the size of the business in the next two to three years, targeting premiums of $460 million. It also intends to increase its areas of specialization, which already account for 50 percent of turnover. Giles is aiming for an initial public offering within the next three years.

Giles is headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, is a newly accredited member of Lloyds of London that operates through a national network of 17 branches.

Columbia Insurance Co., American All-Risk Insurance Services, American Commercial Claim Administrators

Columbia Insurance Co., a member of the Berkshire Hathaway Group of Insurance Companies, agreed to acquire American All-Risk Insurance Services (AARIS) and American Commercial Claim Administrators (ACCA), both wholly-owned subsidiaries of Acacia Pacific Holdings (APH).

AARIS and ACCA are privately held companies that provide underwriting, operational and claims management services for California workers’ compensation business placed through AARIS’ agency distribution network. National Liability & Fire Insurance Co., another member of the Berkshire Hathaway Group of Insurance Companies, has been writing its California workers’ compensation business through AARIS since October 2004. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Lou Rovens, the founder and principal owner of the entities, will continue to operate Acacia Pacific Holdings and its related non-workers’ compensation insurance activities. The acquired AARIS/ACCA operations will be managed by President and CEO Rob Darby, who has been managing the companies since February 2005. AARIS and ACCA are headquartered in San Francisco, and ACCA maintains a branch claims office in San Diego.

AARIS and ACCA provide workers’ compensation insurance solutions for companies of various sizes and in diverse industries in California. Underwriting products include MaxiComp, EconoComp and eQUOTE, an online rating program.

Colemont

Colemont Insurance Brokers of Woodland Hills, Calif., relocated its office. The new address is: Colemont Insurance Brokers of California LLC, 21650 Oxnard Street, Ste. 1600, Woodland Hills, CA 9136. Phone: 818-710-3630. Fax: 818-710-3635.

Mercury Insurance

Los Angeles-based Mercury Insurance Group launched “Mercury Theory,” a humorous television and Web advertising campaign. The commercials began airing on network affiliates and cable TV in major markets in Arizona, California, Florida, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia and Philadelphia.

The focus of the campaign is to humorously communicate Mercury’s auto insurance rates.

“The insurance space has become very competitive over the past two years,” says Chuck Wall, CEO of MarketPower Group, Mercury’s advertising agency of record.

“Today, audiences want to be entertained by advertising,” said Erik Thompson, director of advertising. The Web site, www.mercurytheory.com, offers many of the TV commercials before they air.

Topics California USA London

Was this article valuable?