Business Moves

Eastern Insurance, Rosemary Walker

Natick, Massachusetts-based Eastern Insurance Group, the insurance agency subsidiary of Eastern Bank, has acquired Rosemary Walker Insurance Agency in Danvers.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Rosemary Walker was founded in 1970. Eastern said the acquisition will increase its customer base north of Boston, where it already has eight locations.

In the last year, Eastern has added four new locations in Danvers, Northborough, Norwell and Warwick, R.I. In all, Natick-based Eastern Insurance has 27 locations in eastern and central Massachusetts and parts of Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island making it New England’s largest independent insurance agency.

Tower Group, CastlePoint

Stockholders of New York-based insurer Tower Group, Inc. approved the buyout of Bermuda-based reinsurer CastlePoint Holdings Ltd., a deal expected to close this month.

The $490 million merger, which was announced in August 2008, makes CastlePoint a wholly owned subsidiary of Tower.

Tower offers property and casualty insurance products and services through its operating subsidiaries. Tower’s insurance services subsidiaries provide underwriting, claims and reinsurance brokerage services to other insurance companies.

CastlePoint, through its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance and reinsurance business solutions, products and services to small insurance companies and program underwriting agents in the U.S.

Bradley & Parker, Profile Coverage

Syosset, New York-based insurance agency Bradley & Parker has acquired Profile Coverage Corp. and its affiliated companies, located in Ronkonkoma.

Founded in 1964, Profile Coverage Corp. is an all lines insurance agency offering risk management, commercial, personal property/casualty and all other insurance lines to its clients on Long Island and in the metropolitan New York area.

Profile Coverage Corp. will continue to operate in its current Ronkonkoma location and will become Bradley & Parker’s Suffolk County office.

In connection with the deal, Steve Fuoco will be vice president and branch manager and Lou Pellegrino, former president of Profile Coverage Corp. will remain as an executive consultant to Bradley & Parker.

Ironshore National Branch

Ironshore Inc. has created a new U.S. property/casualty underwriting operation called Ironshore National Branch, which will be based in St. Louis. Missouri.

Ironshore National Branch will build out a national distribution platform for Ironshore products utilizing primarily a wholesale brokerage distribution strategy.

Several former AIG executives have been tasked with managing the new subsidiary. Steven England, former president of AIG Landmark, has been named executive vice president for Ironshore National Branch, and Jordan Gantz and Jim Dowdy – who also served in senior executive roles at AIG Landmark – have joined the group.

The Main Street America Group

Jacksonville, Florida-based insurer The Main Street America Group has introduced Main Street Station for Personal Lines — a new quoting and policy issuance system for its independent insurance agents in Maine, Virginia and Georgia.

Agents will be able to use the new system to quote, endorse or cancel policies for customers who have policies written with one of Main Street America’s operating companies, including NGM Insurance Co., Old Dominion Insurance Co. and Main Street America Assurance Co.

In Maine and Virginia, agents are using the system for homeowners and private passenger automobile insurance. In Georgia, it is just being used for private passenger auto but homeowners will follow soon.

The system will enable quicker notification of underwriting decisions and interface with a number of agency managements systems – eliminating the need for duplicate data entry.