Business Moves

Endurance Specialty, ARMTech

Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd., a Bermuda-based provider of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, reported that one of its U.S. based holding companies is buying out ARMtech Insurance Services Inc. and its affiliates. ARMtech is the fifth largest underwriter of U.S. federally sponsored crop insurance, with $410 million in total premiums in 2007, according to the companies.

ARMtech entered the crop insurance services business in 1999 as a Texas-based managing general agency. ARMtech acquired American Agri-Business Insurance Co. in 2003. American Agri-Business Insurance Co. holds and agreement with the Federal Crop Insurance Corp. and is licensed to underwrite crop insurance in 33 states.

Unitrin, AmTrust

Chicago-based Unitrin Inc. has agreed to sell its Unitrin Business Insurance segment to AmTrust Financial Services Inc. in a cash transaction. Terms were not disclosed.

AmTrust, based in New York City, offers workers’ compensation, commercial automobile and general liability, extended service and warranty coverage. AmTrust North America, through Rochdale and Technology Insurance Companies, offers mono-line workers’ compensation for small and mid-size businesses. AmTrust Underwriters Inc. specializes in risk funding arrangements to single entity and program business clients.

Unitrin is a $3 billion financial services company. Among its brands are Kemper, Unitrin Specialty and Unitrin Business Insurance.

W.R. Berkley, American Mining

Insurance holding company W. R. Berkley Corp., based in Greenwich, Conn., is acquiring CGH Insurance Group, the owner of American Mining Insurance Co. American Mining, based in Birmingham, Ala., has specialized in the mining industry since 1989. Terms were not disclosed.

Chandler F. Cox Jr., American Mining’s current president and chief executive officer, and Dominick Giovannelli, its executive vice president and chief financial officer, will continue in those roles.

Chubb, Bao Minh

Federal Insurance Co. (Labuan), a wholly owned subsidiary of the U.S. Chubb Corp., has agreed to offer specialty liability insurance with Bao Minh, the second-largest insurance company in Vietnam. The partnership will focus on writing directors and officers liability policies.

The Republic-Mississippi

The Republic Group (Republic), headquartered in Dallas, Texas, announced entry into the personal and commercial lines insurance markets in Mississippi.

Republic’s companies will distribute homeowners, dwelling fire, commercial lines, and farm and ranch products through independent agents and an affiliated general agency, Southern States General Agency Inc.

Nationwide – Florida

Nationwide Insurance said it would reduce its catastrophe exposure in Florida by dropping more than 40,000 homeowner and commercial property policies. Nationwide will not renew about 39,000 homeowner policies and 1,600 commercial property policies in Florida starting January 2008, the Columbus, Ohio-based company said. Nationwide said it would have more than 176,000 homeowners policies after the cuts. Nationwide also plans to withdraw its home fire insurance line.

Hull& Co., Bollinger

Hull & Co. Inc. has acquired two Bollinger subsidiaries, Market Solution Managers Inc., of New York, and Princeton Risk Managers Inc., of Princeton, N.J. Market Solution Managers and Princeton Risk Managers, with combined net revenues of $1.6 million, provide excess and surplus lines insurance primarily in the northeastern states. While the New York City operation will remain at its current location, the Princeton office will be combined with Hull’s existing Florham Park, N.J., office.

The two locations will be under the leadership of Jon Bannett, who heads Hull’s existing DVUA office in Florham Park, N.J. Hull & Co. Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brown & Brown Inc.

BancorpSouth, Insurance Network

BancorpSouth Insurance Services Inc., a subsidiary of Mississippi-based BancorpSouth Bank, agreed to acquire Insurance Network of Jonesboro, Ark. Insurance Network becomes part of BancorpSouth’s Little Rock, Ark., insurance division, Ramsey, Krug, Farrell and Lensing (RKF&L) and continues to serve clients in North Central and Northeast Arkansas with its present staff.

Insurance Network, originally incorporated as the Jonesboro Insurance Agency in 1971, serves clients in aviation, banking, construction, manufacturing and the professional and retail markets.

RKF&L became part of BancorpSouth Insurance Services Inc. in 2003. Together with BancorpSouth’s Louisiana insurance division, Wright & Percy, and its Mississippi insurance division, Stewart Sneed Hewes, BancorpSouth Insurance Services Inc. ranks 38th among the top insurance brokerage firms in America.

BancorpSouth Bank operates 290 locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas.

Topics Florida USA Texas New York Mississippi