Business Moves

Berkshire Hathaway

Jake Garn, chief financial examiner of the Utah Insurance Department, announced that the department issued a Certificate of Authority to Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corp. The company now is authorized to sell insurance in Utah.

Berkshire will provide Utah municipal governments with an additional choice in the tight municipal bond market, the UID said.

The company is an “Aaa” rated bond insurer domiciled in the state of New York.

J.C. Flowers II L.P., National Merit

Washington’s Office of the Insurance Commissioner recently held a hearing to consider an investment group’s request to acquire a controlling interest in a Bellevue, Wash.-based property-casualty insurer.

The investment group, J.C. Flowers II L.P., Cayman Islands, an exempted limited partnership, and its subsidiary, JCF DRC, L.P., an Alberta, Canada, limited partnership, have asked the state Insurance Commissioner’s Office to approve acquisition of 46 percent of the common stock shares on the holding company that owns National Merit Insurance Co., of Bellevue. The two limited partnerships are controlled by J.C. Flowers.

National Merit, a personal lines property/casualty insurer, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Response Insurance Co., which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Direct Response Corp., of Delaware.

Zurich Services Corp, OSHA Fast Fix

Schaumburg, Ill.-based Zurich Services Corp.’s risk engineering division announced that it is collaborating with OSHA Fast Fix to help Zurich customers improve workplace safety, address the causes of accidents and reduce workers’ compensation claims.

Under the arrangement, Zurich in North America offers customers a private labeled “Zurich Safety Plans” solution with industry-specific safety plans tailored to individual business needs. The plans are designed provide a foundation for a business to implement its own workplace safety program.

According to Jim Feltz, senior risk engineering consultant at Zurich, “The collaboration will help risk engineering provide a value-added service to our existing loss-control and risk-reduction services for customers. “Often, smaller businesses don’t have the manpower or expertise to devote to safety plan development,” Feltz said.

According to Meredith Taylor, president of OSHA Fast Fix, the safety plans are available in English and Spanish.

Hanover, AMGRO

Worcester, Mass.-based The Hanover Insurance Group Inc. said it will divest its non-insurance, premium finance subsidiary, AMGRO Inc. and its subsidiaries, to Premium Financing Specialists Inc. of Kansas City, Mo.

The transaction is expected to close in June, subject to regulatory reviews and approvals, as well as the satisfaction of certain closing conditions. Terms were not disclosed.

Premium Financing Specialists is an independent premium finance provider that originates more premium finance loan accounts and works with independent agencies.

At year-end 2007, AMGRO represented approximately $6 million of The Hanover’s $2.3 billion in shareholders’ equity.

Truckers Insurance Exchange, Zurich Small Business

Truck Insurance Exchange, a unit of Farmers Insurance Group, reported it will purchase the rights to access renewals on Zurich North America Commercial’s Small Business Solutions $800 million book of business. In addition, the management of the SBS book of business will transfer to Farmers Group Inc.

Farmers Group Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zurich Financial Services. Property/casualty products are underwritten and issued by the Farmers Exchanges and their subsidiaries, which Farmers Group Inc. manages but does not own.

The first exercise of rights to access renewals on this book is estimated to occur within 18-to-24 months after the transaction closes, although timing will vary by state and product/line of business. In the interim, Zurich said that its companies that underwrite the SBS book and the Exchange will enter into a reinsurance arrangement at the closing of the transaction, through which SBS premium will continue to be written on its current paper, but fully ceded to the Exchange. Other terms of the proposed transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2008.