Business Moves

Texas Farmers Insurance Company

Texas Farmers Insurance Company filed a rate increase for its “Texas Family Home Policy” with the Texas Department of Insurance. The increase would impact 200,000 customers or approximately 35 percent of Farmers’ homeowners customers in the state.

The change will average a 7.9 percent increase across Texas but varies by region from +3.2 percent to a maximum of +13.5 percent. For example, Dallas County will see a rate change of +3.2 – 3.5 percent, while Harris County will see a rate increase of +9.5 percent. The variation depends on a territory’s exposure to catastrophic risk.

Farmers said rate adjustment is needed because of increased loss trends due to rising costs; an additional purchase of reinsurance in 2008 to cover the increased risk of catastrophic loss; and an increase in claims filed.

A.J. Gallagher, Leicht General Agency

Ill.-based Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. subsidiary Risk Placement Services Inc. has acquired Leicht General Agency, headquartered in Houston.

Established in 1992, Leicht General Agency is a wholesale insurance broker and managing general agent. They provide excess and surplus property casualty coverage, including professional and general liability, and other specialty insurance products and services for retail insurance agents throughout Texas.

Beth Leicht, Marshall Leicht and their associates will continue to operate from their current location under the direction of Risk Placement Services President Joel Cavaness.

A.J. Gallagher, Bankers Financial Benefits

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. also has acquired Bankers Financial Benefits of Oklahoma City, Okla.

Established in 2001, Bankers Financial Benefits offers employee benefit consulting and brokerage services that include strategic analysis, plan design, legislative compliance, human resource services and employee communications support. The firm specializes in the banking and manufacturing industries.

Gene Miller, John Naeher and their staff will continue to operate at their current location under the direction of John Neumaier, South Central Regional executive vice president of Gallagher’s Employee Benefit Consulting & Brokerage operations.

Max Specialty

Max Specialty Insurance Company, an excess and surplus lines company headquartered in Richmond, Va., is now authorized to write business in Louisiana. With the addition of Louisiana, Max Specialty is now an eligible surplus lines insurer in 46 states.

A subsidiary of Max Capital Group Ltd., Max Specialty operates across three divisions: brokerage, contract binding and marine, offering property, ocean and inland marine, casualty, excess liability and umbrella insurance.

State Auto

The State Auto Insurance Companies began offering personal insurance products in Texas on March 15, less than a year after the Ohio-based insurer acquired Beacon Insurance Group of Wichita Falls.

State Auto’s personal insurance products include: CustomFit, a flexible personal auto product; Prime of Life, a program for State Auto home and auto policyholders over age 45, offering premium discounts and extra-value coverages at no additional charge; Homeowners Op-tions Program, designed to create the right insurance coverage for homes, apartments, or condominiums, with a variety of additional coverages; and Identity Theft Protection, offered to all State Auto home and farm/ranch insurance customers at no additional cost.

Texas Mutual Insurance Company

Texas Mutual Insurance Company announced a new workers’ compensation purchasing group, Texas Construction Supply (TCS), and reported that an existing purchasing group, Texas Home Builders (THB), is now an open program.

TCS offers workers’ comp for qualifying supply yards, building material centers and other construction suppliers. Texas Mutual underwrites TCS and ANCO Insurance administers it.

THB is open to most segments of the home-building industry. Hotchkiss Insurance Agency Inc. administers THB and Texas Mutual underwrites it. THB previously operated as a hybrid program, which meant that only Hotchkiss agents and agents approved by Hotchkiss could place clients in the group.

Universal North America

Universal North America Insurance Company (Universal) has begun offering automobile insurance coverage in Texas. Universal, a multi-regional personal lines carrier, already provides homeowners insurance and other coverages to more than 140,000 residents in five states, including Texas. The company is offering discounts to Texas consumers who purchase both auto and homeowners policies from Universal.

Additionally, later in the year Universal will introduce personal umbrella coverage and UniPak, an additional discount when home, auto and umbrella coverage are all purchased from Universal. Personal watercraft and recreational vehicle coverage are planned for the future.

Higginbotham & Assoc., Allred-Thompson-Mason-Daugherty

Fort Worth, Texas-based Higginbotham & Associates has partnered 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, with two offices in Granbury and Henrietta, 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.

Higginbotham is expanding its operations throughout Texas by joining forces with insurance agencies that have strong footholds in their local markets. ATMD is the first of several planned partnerships.

The Republic Group

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 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.

ASI Lloyds

ASI Lloyds (ASI), of St. Petersburg, Fla., plans to enter the personal property insurance market in Louisiana. ASI was recently a recipient of the Insure Louisiana Incentive program sponsored by the state.

ASI plans to begin writing new homeowners and swelling fire policies in Louisiana in the second quarter of 2008.

John Auer, president and CEO of ASI, said the company specializes in catastrophe exposure management, adding that it currently is a leading property insurer in both Florida and Texas.

Topics Texas Louisiana A.J. Gallagher