Business Moves

ProBuilders

The ProBuilders risk retention group offering general liability insurance for builders and contractors will stop accepting new business and not renew most of its 1,800 policies as of March 1.

According to Bill Tepe, chief financial officer for NationsBuilder Insurance Services (NBIS), the exclusive manager of ProBuilders, the group program has not been able to remain competitive and has been losing revenue due to the collapse of the real estate market and increasing competition from traditional insurance carriers.

As a risk retention group (RRG), ProBuilders is owned by its insureds. ProBuilders Specialty Insurance Co. will maintain primary responsibility for all claims. NationsBuilder Insurance Co. (NBIC) is assuming all present and future claims under a loss transfer agreement.

NBIS has contracted with an A-rated carrier to assume some classes of the business in 32 states. Tepe said NBIS is working to engage another carrier for some or all of the rest of the business but a deal has not been finalized.

The ProBuilders RRG was formed in 2001 at a time when contractors, particularly in California and other western states, were having difficulty obtaining coverage. It later expanded into other regions, including New England in 2005. But in recent years, additional A-rated carriers have entered the contractors market and been competing on price, cutting into revenues and profitability for ProBuilders, according to Tepe.

According to the insurer actuarial firm Demotech, ProBuilders has seen a rapid decline in revenues the past few years. As of June 30, 2009, written premiums were about $6.8 million, down from $25.6 million at year-end 2008 and $62.7 million at year-end 2007. Tepe said the company is communicating with brokers who represent ProBuilders about their options for the business. He said that there is “nothing wrong” with NBIS and NBIS is not ending any other programs or services.

The Hanover, Campania Group

Massachusetts-based The Hanover Insurance Group Inc. will acquire The Campania Group, a Virginia-based medical and general liability insurer for the health care industry. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Campania Group serves health care providers, including durable medical equipment suppliers, behavioral health specialists, elder care providers and podiatrists. Campania has companies admitted in 21 states and the District of Columbia.

The acquisition follows The Hanover’s announcement last month that it has expanded in the west and entered into a renewal rights agreement with OneBeacon Insurance Group on $400 million in small- and middle-market commercial business at renewal.

Universal, Texas Platinum

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Universal Insurance Holdings Inc. announced it has withdrawn its application to form and license a new Texas subsidiary, Platinum Property and Casualty Insurance Co., which would have written homeowners’ insurance coverage in Texas. Universal said it will instead explore the possible acquisition of a company in Texas.

BrickStreet

West Virginia-based BrickStreet Mutual Insurance said it has been approved to begin writing workers’ compensation in Illinois.

The move continues an expansion drive for the company, which was approved to write coverage in Kentucky last year. BrickStreet also has plans to become licensed in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Alabama in 2010.

BrickStreet is the largest provider of workers’ compensation insurance in West Virginia. Formerly a state monopoly, the company was converted to a private carrier on Jan. 1, 2006.

Keystone Group, Limestone, Lexington, Durrett, Insuramax

Limestone Insurance, Lexington Insurance Agency, Inc., Durrett Insurance and Insuramax have joined Keystone Insurers Group (KIG), bringing KIG’s number of agencies in Kentucky to six. Keystone is the nation’s sixth largest privately-held property/casualty agency. These four firms become part of KIG’s network of more than 200 agencies in six states.

Limestone Insurance is headquartered in Mount Sterling, Ky., where it was founded in 1847. The agency principals are J. Miller Hoffman, Ray Robertson and Jeff Thompson.

Durrett Insurance, Louisville, traces its roots back 100 years. Principals are Virginia Goff, David Meena and Tom Dawson.

Lexington Insurance Agency, Inc. was founded in 1952 and is owned by Joe Cerzosie, Larry Reesman, Lindsay Campbell and Bob Bosse.

Insuramax, Louisville, was founded in 1970 by Marvin Smith, who continues as a principal along with Tim Conder, Allen Hennessey and Joe Dever.

KIG, founded in 1983 and headquartered in Northumberland, Pa., is owned by its employees and franchise partners in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Each partner is an independent agency. With property/casualty premiums exceeding $1 billion, KIG is ranked sixth on Insurance Journal’s 2009 list of Top 100 Privately-Held Property/Casualty Agencies.

Florida Peninsula, Edison

Florida Peninsula Holdings, LLC, the parent company of Florida Peninsula Insurance Co., has completed its acquisition of Edison Insurance Group, including its two subsidiaries: Edison Insurance Co. and Edison Insurance Underwriters.

The previously-announced acquisition includes more than 25,000 Edison homeowners policyholders that will now become part of Florida Peninsula Insurance Co.

Headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, Edison Insurance Co. will become part of the Florida Peninsula family of companies. Florida Peninsula has more than 120,000 homeowners, renters and condominium unit policyholders.

Current Edison customers will continue working with their existing insurance agents, the company said. Edison policies will continue to remain in full force. Current Florida Peninsula customers are not affected.

SUNZ, Brentwood

SUNZ Insurance Co. of St. Petersburg, Fla. has acquired Brentwood National Insurance Co. of Brentwood, Tenn., a workers’ compensation services and claims firm.

SUNZ sells workers’ compensation to professional employer organizations (PEO) and staffing companies. Currently, SUNZ said it is finalizing rates in the states that have been acquired through Brentwood National. Once complete, the expansion will focus primarily on the southeast region of the country and in an additional 12 states.