Business Moves – Midwest

strong>Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Grossman & Associates

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Grossman & Associates Inc. in Beachwood, Ohio. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1980, Grossman & Associates is an employee benefits broker and consultant that offers group health, welfare and wellness plans for clients primarily in Ohio. The firm specializes in educational institutions and consortia, public entities, non-profit organizations and professional service firms.

Ned Grossman and his colleagues will continue to operate in their current location under the direction of William Ziebell, north central regional executive vice president of Gallagher’s employee benefit consulting and brokerage operations.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., an international insurance brokerage and risk management services firm, is headquartered in Itasca, Ill.

State Auto, RED, Rockhill Specialty

The specialty division of the Ohio-based State Auto Insurance Group is consolidating its Risk Evaluation and Design (RED) subsidiary and its Rockhill Specialty Program Division into a single operating structure.

The RED team, based in Chapel Hill, N.C., will be led by Gregory T. Doyle, Rockhill’s senior vice president for programs. Doyle will be relocating to North Carolina to lead the consolidated program operations of Rockhill and RED. Prior to joining State Auto, Doyle held senior level positions with CastlePoint Holdings and the BMS Group.

RED is a managing general underwriter that markets alternative risk transfer and program business for small businesses. The Rockhill unit markets products in the excess and surplus business and small surety business.

The company said the new structure will streamline processes and allow Rockhill to expand its admitted and non-admitted program capabilities.

Rockhill said it will continue to form partnerships with managing general underwriters with a track record of generating underwriting profits.

Chartis

AIG’s property/casualty division Chartis announced the launch of its hospitality and leisure industry practice group, which will provide specialized insurance and risk management products for the hotel, amusement, gaming, restaurant, resort and theme park segments.

Lance Ewing, former vice president of risk management of Harrah’s Entertainment, has been named U.S./Canada industry practice leader for this regional industry practice group.

Chartis stated that its industry practice group offers an efficient point of coordination for customers and brokers to best leverage the company’s global capabilities, and align the organization’s resources and objectives to respond to the voice of the industry.

The company said its new industry practice group’s capabilities extend well beyond basic insurance and risk management products. It will leverage expertise in engineering, safety, crisis and claims management, marketplace strategies as well as market analytics to present optimal approaches to managing risk, Chartis stated.

Applied Systems, Compu-Quote

Illinois-based insurance software firm Applied Systems Inc. has acquired Compu-Quote Inc., a Canadian comparative insurance rating company.

Applied Systems CEO Reid French said the transaction provides excellent growth prospects and synergies for Applied Systems and its customers in the Canadian insurance market and is fundamental to the company’s growth strategy.

Compu-Quote will become part of Applied Systems Canada.

Applied Systems is based in University Park, Illinois.

AmWINS

Wholesale insurance broker, AmWINS Group Inc., has completed its recapitalization with the private equity firm New Mountain Capital of New York. AmWINS reported that its management and employee shareholders agreed on a $1.3 billion recapitalization with private equity firm. Other terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

AmWINS CEO M. Steven DeCarlo said employee shareholders will continue to own more than one third of AmWINS. He also said no changes to AmWINS’ senior management, local management or operational teams would be made as a result of the deal.

The deal ends the firm’s partnership with Parthenon Capital Partners, which bought a majority percent stake in AmWINS in 2005.

Financial Technology Partners LP, Goldman Sachs & Co. and Willis Capital Markets & Advisory acted as financial advisors to AmWINS. Credit Suisse and Macquarie Capital acted as financial advisors to New Mountain. The credit facility was co-led by Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs.

AmWINS Group Inc. is a wholesale distributor of specialty insurance products and services.

Topics Agencies Excess Surplus Ohio A.J. Gallagher Canada Risk Management