Business Moves

Roach Howard Smith & Hunter, L.T. Barton Insurance

Texas-based Roach Howard Smith & Hunter and L.T. Barton Insurance, one company since 1998, announced they will now operate under the same name, Roach Howard Smith & Barton (RHSB).

The two firms merged in 1998, bringing together one of the oldest, privately-owned insurance firms in Dallas with one of the oldest, privately-owned firms in Fort Worth.

Roach Howard Smith & Hunter was founded in 1955 by Richard Roach in Garland, Texas. L.T. Barton Insurance was founded in 1945 in Fort Worth, Texas. In 1998, the two companies merged, but continued operating under separate names.

RHSB has offices in Dallas and Fort Worth and is a partner firm of Assurex Global, a privately held insurance brokerage group with combined premiums exceeding $23 billion.

Source: RHSB

Travelers

Travelers announced a 10 percent discount on auto insurance for Texas policyholders who are hybrid car owners. The company said the discount complements other Texas perks for hybrid drivers and clarified that a discount of up to 10 percent applies only to certain coverages and is subject to individual eligibility.

Both San Antonio and Austin offer free parking programs for registered hybrid autos in an effort to promote ownership of such vehicles.

Texans registered 9,632 new hybrid vehicles in 2005, third to California, with 52,619 registered hybrids. Florida ranks second with 10,470 registered hybrids, followed by New York and Virginia.

To give hybrid owners, and those considering purchasing a hybrid car, a central place for information and entertainment related to hybrid driving, Travelers created www.hybridtravelers.com. Visitors can get up-to-date information on federal and state tax benefits and other perks for hybrid drivers, as well as access an agent locator, obtain policy information and get an insurance quote. The site also features the Early Adopt-o-meter, which ranks a visitor’s penchant for embracing new technologies, and a place where enthusiasts can share their stories as “hybrid travelers.”

Earlier this year, Travelers became the first auto insurance company to offer a discount to hybrid drivers on a national level and has been steadily rolling out the discount state by state. In addition to Texas, the company recently made the discount available in New Jersey, bringing the total number of states in which the discount is offered to 40.

Source: Travelers

USI, Universal American Agency

USI Holdings Corp. acquired a book of business from Universal American Insurance Agency Inc., which sells personal property and casualty coverages to home buying customers of one of the nation’s leading home builders.

The book of business represents more than $6 million of annualized revenues for USI. It will become part of USI’s Affinity division, which markets insurance products to the membership and customer base of associations, trade groups and other sponsoring organizations.

USI is headquartered in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., and operates out of 68 offices in 19 states.

Source: USI.