Business Moves – Midwest

MJ Insurance, Mead & Company

Property/casualty and employee benefits agency, MJ Insurance, has acquired Indianapolis-based Mead & Company.

Mead & Company is a multi-generational family business operated by the Mead family and founded in the 1860s. The firm began as a managing general agency known as Zener and Stone but subsequently became known as Stone, Stafford and Stone. In 1981, the name was changed to Mead & Company, owned by William J. Mead.

MJ Insurance was founded in 1964 by James B. Ritter and Michael M. Bill. Michael M. Bill serves as chairman of the company’s board of directors while his son, Michael H. Bill, serves as CEO.

Similar to MJ Insurance, Mead & Company offers property/casualty and personal lines services for a host of clients. Mead & Company employees will be transferred to MJ Insurance’s Indianapolis headquarters. There will be no layoffs.

The Daniel and Henry Co

St. Louis, Mo.-based The Daniel and Henry Co. has opened an insurance operation in Chicago.

The new office includes the addition of veteran producers Steve Lorenzini, Doug Marcheschi, Bill Durkin, Michael Sobel, Richard Blumberg, Tim Lain, Marc Alberico, Jeffrey Oostema and Mike Blumberg along with their professional staff.

In addition to common business cultures, values and corporate structure, this new operation will increase market capabilities in both offices.

Founded in 1921 in St. Louis, The Daniel and Henry Co. has grown into an insurance brokerage with more than 175 employees placing more than $200 million in premiums annually.

H.W. Kaufman Financial Group, Tracz & Associates

The H.W. Kaufman Financial Group announced the acquisition of Mertens Enterprises Inc. (DBA Tracz & Associates), a provider of premium insurance audit services headquartered in Lockport, Ill. The transaction closed on Oct. 1.

Tracz & Associates will retain its Chicagoland presence while becoming part of the nationwide team at Kaufman-owned US-Reports, which provides premium audits, loss control inspections and risk management services.

Tom Mertens, president of Tracz & Associates, will stay on in a leadership capacity and continue to lead his Lockport-based team.

US-Reports and its team of nearly 1,000 field partners specializes in premium insurance audits, inspections, surveys, loss control, desktop reports, risk services, industrial hygiene, personal insurance, high value dwelling, replacement cost and insurance to value.

Ryan Specialty Group, Atlantic Star Intermediaries

Chicago-based Ryan Specialty Group L.L.C. announced that its wholesale arm R-T Specialty L.L.C. has acquired assets and operations of Atlantic Star Intermediaries L.L.C.

Atlantic Star Intermediaries, based in New York City, specializes in the wholesale brokerage placement of insurance for the construction and real estate industries, handling primary general liability, property, umbrella/excess liability and affiliated classes of business within these disciplines. In addition, Atlantic Star maintains binding authorities for mono-line owners and contractors protective liability and for mono-line railroad protective liability coverages.

Ryan Specialty Group is a global holding company, which includes a wholesale brokerage, a select group of highly-specialized underwriting companies, a Lloyd’s insurer and other specialty services designed specifically for agents, brokers and insurers. Ryan Specialty Group was founded by Patrick G. Ryan, the retired chairman and CEO of Aon Corp.

Lockton Dunning Benefits, Excelsior Solutions

Lockton Dunning Benefits, a Dallas-based employee benefits consulting company, has acquired Excelsior Solutions, a pharmaceutical and healthcare consulting company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. The Excelsior Solutions acquisition strengthens Lockton’s existing pharmacy benefits consulting expertise.

Former Excelsior Solutions President Kenneth Dowell joins Lockton Dunning Benefits as senior vice president and chairman of the Lockton Pharmacy Analytics Advisory Board.

Founded by a group of industry veterans, Excelsior Solutions has successfully provided prescription benefit management consulting, claims evaluation and management, specialty drug management and Medicaid/Medicare consulting for health plans, managed care companies, pharmacies and PBMs representing more than 16 million lives.

The transaction was completed Oct. 1, 2012. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Excelsior Solutions will retain its name in the immediate future. The combined operation employs 192 associates.

Topics Agencies Excess Surplus