Business Moves

Higginbotham & Associates, ATMD

Higginbotham & Associates announced a partnership with Allred-Thompson-Mason-Daugherty (ATMD) in an effort to broaden its Texas presence.

ATMD is a general lines insurance agency based in Wichita Falls, Texas, with two offices in Granbury and Henrietta, Texas, and a combined staff of 59 employees. ATMD was formed in 1988 with the union of two well-established Wichita Falls agencies, Allred-Thompson and Mason-Daugherty.

ATMD is the first of several partnerships that Higginbotham plans in an effort to expand its operations throughout Texas

Founded in 1948, Higginbotham is headquartered in Fort Worth, and has offices in Dallas, Austin, Denton, McKinney, Weatherford and Waco.

Republic, Four Corners

The Republic Group (Republic), based in Dallas, has entered the personal lines market in Arkansas. Republic entered the state with its commercial lines products in December 2007.

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

Parker W. Rush, president and chief executive officer of the Republic companies, said his company’s products have been tailored for Arkansas and they are ready to compete in the state.

Republic also has acquired Four Corners Insurance Services Inc. (Four Corners), a general agency based in Phoenix, Ariz., that specializes in non-standard auto insurance coverages produced through independent insurance agents in Arizona, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah and Washington, D.C.

Philo Smith Capital Corp. served as Four Corners’ broker in this transaction.

Rush said Four Corners will be developing “non-standard auto business products for us in Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas over the next several months.”

Mitchel Slater is president of Four Corners and Robert Heveri is vice president.

MiniCo, International Catastrophe Insurance Managers

Phoenix-based MiniCo Inc. reported it signed an agreement with Boulder, Colo.-based International Catastrophe Insurance Managers LLC (ICAT), to begin offering property and wind coverage for coastal locations in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Delaware, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

Additional filings are in progress for many other states with approvals expected in coming weeks. MiniCo currently has capacity available in designated areas within these states.

ICAT’s available policy coverages include property, wind, and business interruption. MiniCo can also provide a general liability quote with limits for customers goods legal liability and sale and disposal liability coverage.

Gramercy, AmWINS Transportation, Na-tional Transportation Adjusters, GMAC RE

Gramercy Insurance Company (GIC), a global property and casualty insurer, announced the expansion of its Commercial Auto division with the addition of truck liability insurance. GIC now provides a single source solution for those customers seeking physical damage, cargo and liability coverage. GIC has named a select group of agents to its Founders’ Circle and launched the program in a ceremony with the Founders Circle agents in Dallas.

Antonio Barner, Gramercy’s vice president of operations, said the company believes this type of program is needed by small to medium transportation companies. Adding this program keeps GIC aligned with its strategic vision to offer a full commercial auto suite of risk solutions to a niche market, the company said.

AmWINS Transportation, formerly Seaboard Underwriters, acts as the program’s managing general agency for underwriting and policy issuance within guidelines developed and controlled by Gramercy.

National Transportation Adjusters Inc. (NTA) serves as the third party claims administrator. NTA is recognized as one of the country’s leading TPAs serving the trucking industry.

The program is reinsured by GMAC RE, a long time partner of GIC.

GIC’s trucking liability program targets small to medium trucking companies with units from one to 100. GIC’s primary focus is long haul trucking operations with an unlimited radius (in excess of 200 – 300 miles) using dry and refrigerated vans, flat bed, non-hazardous bulk tankers and containerized freight.

Universal North America, Houston General

Universal North America Insurance Company, 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.

Topics Florida Texas South Carolina Arkansas Arizona