Business Moves

Mercator, Tennant Risk Services

Mercator Risk Services, a specialty wholesale insurance broker, acquired Tennant Risk Services Insurance Agency LLC, a Hartford, Conn.-based wholesale broker and underwriting manager. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Tennant Risk Services specializes in errors and omissions, directors and officers liability, employment practices liability, architects and engineers, medical malpractice and cyber liability among other things.

The combined firm will write slightly more than $110 million in premium with just under 70 people, Mercator’s CEO Chris Treanor said. Tennant President Bob SargentSargent will serve as an executive vice president and will head up the Hartford, Conn., office.

Treanor said he doesn’t anticipate there will be significant cost take-out as a result of the merger. “We want to make sure we have some capacity to grow,” he said. “We don’t see a whole lot of consolidation.”

Mercator grew business by 50 percent in 2007 and Tennant Risk Services has grown in excess of 20 percent year-over-year, Treanor noted.

Tennant Risk Services will be branded under the Mercator name as Mercator Pro for professional liability and management liability, while small business risks will be under the name, Mercator Commercial Services.

Republic, Four Corners

Dallas-based Republic Companies Inc. has acquired Four Corners Insurance Services Inc., a general agency based in Phoenix, Ariz.

Republic reported that Four Corners specializes in non-standard auto insurance coverages produced through independent insurance agents in Arizona, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah and Washington, D.C.

Parker W. Rush, president and chief executive officer of Republic, said Four Corners will be developing “non-standard auto business products for us in Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas over the next several months.”

General Star

Stamford, Conn.-based General Star Management Co. is consolidating its Excess and Primary units into a new Casualty Division.

“Clients will now work with a single underwriter and manager for both lines of business,” says Joe Masjak, senior vice president.

Cole Palmer will serve as the Western regional manager, responsible for Los Angeles and Chicago. Jim Richardson has been appointed Eastern regional manager, responsible for the New York and Stamford locations.

CBIZ, NAIS

CBIZ Inc. has acquired substantially all the assets of NAIS Inc. effective Feb. 1. NAIS provides innkeepers insurance programs marketed through James Wolf Insurance and Old Line Insurance. NAIS, located in Frederick, Md., is one of the largest providers of innkeepers’ insurance.

NAIS recorded approximately $2.1 million in revenue over the past 12 months and has about 25 employees.

CBIZ provides professional business services such as benefits, accounting, valuation and medical practice management, as well as human resources consulting.

Universal North America, Houston General

Universal North America Insurance Co., with corporate offices in Texas and Florida, has agreed to acquire the renewal rights to approximately 11,500 policies from the personal lines portfolio of Canton, Mass.-based Houston General Insurance Exchange.

The acquisition includes homeowner and auto policies in Arizona, South Carolina and Texas. Policies will begin transferring to Universal North America in mid-March on their effective renewal dates.

Universal North America President Rick Espino said transitioning the policies will be a seamless process, adding that the company has completed similar acquisitions involving more than 135,000 policies over the past four years.

Universal North America, began writing policies in Florida in 2004, entered the Texas market in 2005, South Carolina last year, and recently Arizona and Nevada. Universal North America’s parent company, Universal Group Inc., is an A.M. Best “A” (Excellent) rated carrier with more than $250 million in surplus.

BancorpSouth, JMG/IC

Tupelo, Miss.-based BancorpSouth Insurance Services Inc., a subsidiary of BancorpSouth Bank, has signed a deal to buy JMG/IC Insurance Agency Inc., of Nacogdoches, Texas. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

JMG/IC was founded in 1962 and has written premiums of more than $100 million. The agency operates in Itasca, Ill.; and in Houston, Livingston, Tyler, Henderson and Athens in Texas. The agency’s major lines of business include, commercial, group, personal, surety, life and health insurance products.

BancorpSouth Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of BancorpSouth Inc. with $13.2 billion in assets. It is headquartered in Tupelo, Miss., with branches in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas.

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