Business Moves

Argus Fire & Casualty, Florida

A Florida insurance company is on its way to closing its door as it informed agents it is going to start dropping policyholders when their policies are up for renewal. Argus Fire & Casualty, a subsidiary of the Miami Gardens-based United Automobile Insurance Co., has roughly 15,000 policies in force. The insurer has been under regulatory review since last year. Regulators agreed to let the insurer go into run-off mode as opposed to be taken by the state. A.M. Best indicated the insurer was having problems as far back as 2008 and it lost its Demotech rating in March 2010. Last year, regulators allowed Argus to move 4,000 policies it had taken from the Citizens Property Insurance back into the state-run insurer.

NSI Insurance Group, Royal Marine

Miami Lakes, Florida-based NSI Insurance Group it has merged with another Miami-based brokerage, Royal Marine Insurance Group. The combined agency will continue to be known as NSI Insurance Group.

The executives and staff of Royal Marine bring a specialty in marine and aviation to NSI. NSI, started in 1958, is co-owned by George Nenezian and Oscar Seikaly and has more than 70 employees.

HomeWise, First Home

HomeWise Insurance Co. and First Home Insurance Co. have completed their previously-announced merger. The two Florida domiciled companies, with $25 million of surplus, are combined under the HomeWise Insurance Co. name. Rating firm Demotech Inc. has issued a Financial Stability Rating (FSR) of A, Exceptional, for the combined entity. Tampa-based HomeWise said it will offer homeowners, tenant and condominium, dwelling fire, flood and small commercial property coverage in Florida, along with homeowners in Louisiana.

Hub, First Southeast

Chicago-based broker Hub International Limited has completed its acquisition of First Southeast Insurance Services, Inc., an insurance brokerage firm headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina. FSIS has four operating units in North and South Carolina that will become a new regional platform doing business as Hub International Southeast. FSIS offers property/ casualty, employee benefits and personal lines through First Southeast Insurance Services; Kinghorn Insurance Services, Inc.; Associated Insurors, Johnson Insurance Associates Inc.; Peoples Insurance Agency; Employer Benefits Strategies; Somers-Pardue Insurance Services and Benefit Administrators Inc.

MarketScout, Florida

MarketScout, the Dallas-based electronic insurance exchange with managing general agent and wholesale operations, has expanded by opening a personal lines underwriting facility in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The new location will focus on hard-to-place personal lines business in all 50 states, Canada and the Caribbean. The unit is headed by Alan Gayne, who joined MarketScout in April as national managing director of Private Client Solutions.

Alfa, Alabama

Alabama’s second largest insurer of homes, Alfa Insurance, plans to not renew policies on one out of every six homes it insures in Alabama. The company said it will send notices involving about 73,000 homes when they come up for renewal over the next 16 months. Most of the policies are with landlords who own multiple rental houses. Some are on individual homes where the owners don’t have any other insurance with Alfa. Customers with homeowners insurance and either auto or life insurance won’t be affected.

Alfa officials predict the tornadoes in late April will result in about 25,000 claims totaling $425 million to $475 million, which would make it the costliest storm ever for the Montgomery-based company. Alfa President Jerry Newby said the storm’s damage is well within the coverage of Alfa’s reinsurance program, and the net impact on the company will be no greater than Hurricane Ivan in 2004. But he said the storms over the last few years prompted a review of Alfa’s procedures. After dropping the 73,000 policies, Alfa will still have about 330,000 policies on homes and 20,000 on businesses and churches, spokesman Jeff Helms said.

Scott said the changes apply only to Alabama, but the company is reviewing its policies in Georgia and Mississippi.

Topics Florida Alabama