Tower Group, Canopius
Tower Group Inc. closed its merger with Canopius Holdings Bermuda Ltd. Tower becomes an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Canopius Bermuda, which will change its name effective at the closing to Tower Group International Ltd. (Tower Ltd.).
The merger creates a Bermuda-domiciled holding company structure that combines Tower’s businesses with certain of Canopius’s reinsurance business, and gives Tower access to U.S., Bermuda and Lloyd’s markets.
Thoits, NFP Property
NFP Property & Casualty Insurance Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of National Financial Partners Corp., acquired San Jose, Calif.-based Thoits Insurance Service Inc. Thoits Insurance will become the NFP property/casualty regional office in California.
NFP, based in New York, reported it generated more than $1 billion in revenue in 2012. The company provides advisory and brokerage services to companies and high-net worth individuals.
Strickland, Tower Transportation
Strickland Insurance Brokers of Goldsboro, N.C., acquired the assets of Palmyra, Virginia-based Tower Transportation Underwriters Inc.
Tower Underwriters, owned by Fred Black, is a managing general agency in Virginia and Delaware that specializes in commercial and public transportation risks. It will now become part of Strickland Insurance Brokers (SIB).
Strickland Insurance Brokers is an MGA and wholesale broker founded in 1969. Robbie Strickland, president of Strickland, said the deal fits with SIB’s growth strategy in the mid-Atlantic region.
Arthur J. Gallagher, Advanced Benefit Advisors
Itasca, Ill.-based global insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. acquired Advanced Benefit Advisors Inc. of Cherry Hill, N.J. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Advanced Benefit Advisors offers employee benefit brokerage and consulting services for the automotive, financial services and healthcare industries.
Advanced Benefit Advisors President and CEO Robert Petcove and his associates will continue to operate in their current location under the direction of David Ziegler, Eastern region executive vice president of Gallagher’s employee benefit consulting and brokerage operations.
Arthur J. Gallagher has already acquired several agencies in 2013, including: Metzler Bros. Insurance of Kansas City, Mo.; Insurance Risk Managers of Missouri Inc. in St. Louis; Gardner & White Corp. in Indianapolis; Hardman & Howell Benefits in Wichita, Kan.; and Argus Benefits in Atlanta.
Turner Barker, Clark Insurance
Turner Barker Insurance, a Portland, Maine-based agency that was a wholly owned subsidiary of Gorham Savings Bank for the past dozen years, will soon merge with Clark Insurance, an agency also based in Portland.
Turner Barker was founded in 1908 and purchased by Gorham Savings Bank in 2001. Clark Insurance was established in 1931. Both firms are headquartered in Portland. Clark Insurance has additional offices in Saco and Windham, Maine, as well as in Manchester, N.H. Both Turner Barker and Clark Insurance offer services for personal, business, employee benefits, life and health insurance.
Turner Barker will retain its name but will operate as “A Clark Insurance Agency” with Douglas Allen continuing to serve as Turner Barker’s president, Bradford Kirkpatrick as executive vice president and Kalevi Kotkas as vice president.
Clark Insurance will remain an employee-owned firm, with Maine-based Gorham Savings Bank becoming a minority owner. Gorham Savings Bank’s President Christopher Emmons will join the board of directors of Clark Insurance. The deal is expected to close within 30 to 45 days.
The combined agency will employ more than 100 insurance agents and customer service representatives in offices throughout southern Maine, as well as in Manchester, N.H.
H.W. Kaufman, Global Excess Partners
The H.W. Kaufman Financial Group acquired Global Excess Partners, a New York City-based specialty insurance organization that offers underwriting programs on behalf of Lloyd’s and other carriers, and is focused on large- and middle-market property accounts.
Global Excess Partners will retain its entire leadership team, staff and office in New York, according to the parties, and will operate as an independent entity within the global Kaufman Financial Group network. Diarmuid Hogan is president and CEO of Global Excess Partners, which was founded in 1997.
Alan Jay Kaufman, chairman, president and CEO of Kaufman Financial Group, said the deal gives his firm a “significant” New York City presence and greater large property capacity, while making it more globally competitive. The deal also furthers its relationship with Lloyd’s, the company said in a statement.
The Farmington Hills, Michigan-based H.W. Kaufman Financial Group includes Burns & Wilcox, Chesterfield Insurance Brokers (London), Coleman and Kaufman, R.B. Jones and Minuteman Claims Administrators.
Topics New York A.J. Gallagher Maine
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