Business Moves

Norfolk & Dedham, Rockingham

Two East Coast-based mutual insurance companies have formed a mutual alliance that they say allows them to achieve efficiencies, diversification and spread of risk without actually merging their companies. The Norfolk & Dedham Group and the Rockingham Group said that unlike a traditional merger, their mutual alliance is an “innovative model of how mutual insurance companies can benefit from shared resources while maintaining company autonomy and identity.”

The insurers said the geographic diversity of their two customer bases enables the organization to spread risk and mitigate the impact of large losses. They also hope to create a stronger organization by streamlining business processes, although no staff reductions have been announced.

Headquartered in Dedham, Massachusetts, The Norfolk & Dedham Group consists of Norfolk & Dedham Mutual Fire Insurance Co., Dorchester Mutual Insurance Co., and Fitchburg Mutual Insurance Co.

With offices in Dedham, Mass. and Bridgewater, New Jersey, the company provides personal and commercial insurance to 120,000 policyholders through more than 300 independent agents in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island.

Harrisonburg, Virginia-based the Rockingham Group consists of Rockingham Mutual Insurance Co., Rockingham Casualty Co., and Rockingham Mutual Service Agency, Inc. It writes personal and small business insurance products for more than 50,000 policyholders through 100 insurance agencies in Virginia and Pennsylvania.

While the Alliance will provide an opportunity for both organizations to work together, they will maintain independent boards of directors and the companies will continue to be regulated by their respective states of Massachusetts and Virginia.

NIA Group, J. Lindsay Fuller

New Jersey-based brokerage The NIA Group has acquired J. Lindsay Fuller, CLU Inc. and USC Administrative Services, an employee benefits operation based in Moorestown, New Jersey.

As part of the asset acquisition, J. Lindsay Fuller, Kathy Coar and Lauren Bremme have joined NIA in its Mt. Laurel, New Jersey office.

J. Lindsay Fuller, Inc. and USC provide employee benefits programs, human resource services, and other consulting services, including the administration of COBRA and flexible benefits programs to many types of businesses in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Valiant

Specialty insurer Valiant Insurance Group announced plans to expand its New York City headquarters and relocate to a larger space in a move designed to accommodate a workforce double its current size.

Company executives say the will allow the company to further develop the resources and personnel to continue effectively serving our agents, brokers and client policyholders. Valiant focuses on commercial liability lines in four main segments: marine, management liability, professional liability and casualty.

J.M. Woodworth

J. M. Woodworth RRG, Inc., a medical malpractice Risk Retention Group that insures physicians and surgeons in New York, is reducing the capital new policyholders are required to pay by 83 percent through the end of this year. The company said it will make this offer to new stockholders from October 1 through December 31.

Woodworth is a stock insurance company organized as a Risk Retention Group under the federal Liability Risk Retention Act of 1986, which enables RRGs domiciled in a single state to operate in all other states without additional licensing. The company issued its first policy in New York on October 1, 2006.

Verisk Analytics IPO

Insurance risk specialist Verisk Analytics Inc. raised $1.88 billion in the biggest IPO by a U.S. company since March 2008 after pricing its shares at a higher-than-expected $22 each.

The sale of the shares, which had been expected to price at between $19 and $21, marked the biggest IPO by a U.S. company since a $19.6 billion offering by credit card operator Visa Inc .

Verisk, which does most of its business through its subsidiary ISO and is owned by a group of insurance companies, collects actuarial and underwriting data related to U.S. property and casualty insurance risks.

All 85.25 million shares in the IPO were being sold by Verisk’s existing shareholders, which include American International Group Inc., Hartford Financial Services Group and ACE Group Holdings.

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