Business Moves

IMA Financial

Insurance and risk management services company, IMA Financial Group Inc., has established a contract management practice at its retail insurance brokerage subsidiary, IMA of Texas. The contractual risk management practice team consults with companies to help limit and sometimes transfer their risk via contractual relationships, with a special focus on insurance requirements, indemnity provisions and other risk transfer mechanisms.

Companies in the construction, energy and healthcare industries, are the unit’s target market. However, IMA’s contractual risk management services will be available to companies in all industries.

Higginbotham, EnRisk

Independent insurance and financial services brokerage firm, Higginbotham & Associates, has engaged EnRisk Services, an insurance broker and risk manager for the energy industry, to supplement its existing Energy Division. Both firms are headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.

Higginbotham launched its Energy Division in 2000. Its energy customers are exploration and production companies with onshore and offshore operations and oilfield service companies involved in drilling, construction and pipelines. Higginbotham also brokers broad commercial and personal property/casualty coverage, employee benefits and life insurance.

EnRisk is an independent insurance brokerage firm that has served the energy industry exclusively for 34 years. The firm places traditional and energy-specific property/casualty coverage and provides risk identification and safety, claims and contractual liability management. EnRisk employs a staff of 30 energy professionals and operates a second office in Houston.

Preferred Guardian

Preferred Guardian Insurance (PGI), based in Dallas, Texas, announced it has opened a wholesale division and added its first two agencies: PIP Insurance Services in Dallas and Alkali Insurance Services in Plano.

PGI’s wholesale program seeks agents new to the insurance business as well as those new to the independent agency system.

Preferred Guardian assists in the initial stage of opening an agency from site selection to interviewing to budgeting/financial forecasting. The company offers direct access to many national insurance carriers and pays almost all of the commission to the retail agency.

NIP-RCG

Austin, Texas-based NIP-RCG, a national professional advisory firm offering consulting services to directors and management of many of America’s public corporations, has merged its executive compensation and executive benefits groups, RCG Executive Compensation Group (RCG | ECG) and RCG Benefits Group to form RCG Compensation and Benefits Group.

David Leach is the managing principal of RCG | ECG. He has more than 30 years of executive compensation consulting experience, including building and managing numerous executive compensation practices at firms such as Towers Perrin, Compensation Resource Group, and Buck Consultants.

In addition, two new principals are joining the RCG San Diego office: Larry Robinson and Ken Wechsler.

NIP-RCG has offices in Austin, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York and San Diego.

Lipscomb, Ronnie Cathey

Dallas-based Lipscomb Insurance Group has partnered with Ronnie Cathey to form Lipscomb & Cathey.

Cathey’s expertise includes real estate and marine insurance. Lipscomb is a full service agency offering property/casualty and life/health, as well as unusual and special insurance products for both commercial and personal lines risks. Together the partners represent more than 95 years and three generations of insurance brokerage experience.

Before joining Lipscomb, Ronnie Cathey spent 15 years with Aon Risk Services of Texas where he was executive vice president. Prior to Aon, Cathey owned and operated his own independent agency focusing on real estate and marine business until acquired by Aon in 1991.

Founded by Forrest Lipscomb in the early 1960s, Lipscomb started as a direct correspondent agent for Lloyds of London providing a tailored insurance program for cotton merchants and other marine oriented risks.

Lipscomb & Cathey is currently home to 33 insurance professionals.

Iroquois Group

The Iroquois Group, an insurance agency network organization, announced it is expanding into Arkansas. Iroquois said with the addition of Arkansas it is now doing business in 37 states and representing more than 1,800 member-agencies. Philip Dawson, managing partner of Iroquois’ midwestern operations, will oversee the Arkansas operation.

America First

America First Insurance, a Liberty Mutual Agency Markets regional company headquartered in Richardson, Texas, has introduced an online Agent Learning Center for its appointed agencies.

First American appointed agents can now register for classroom workshops and participate in virtual or self-paced online programs, many of which qualify for continuing education credits.

Professional development courses include general insurance topics, sales, product, office productivity, consultative selling and agency management. In addition, an Agency Manager Toolkit is available to assist agency owners or principals in hiring and developing successful new producers.

America First Insurance also said it is offering a Commercial Lines New Producer Program, which is 30-week development curriculum that combines online instruction, webinars, and in-agency mentoring with classroom training. The program is supported by AICPCU materials and graduates receive the Insurance Institute of America’s Accredited Advisor in Insurance (AAI) designation.

America First Insurance offers insurance products in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.

Topics Texas Arkansas