Business Moves

St. James

St. James Insurance Group, based in Orlando, Fla., has re-entered the commercial lines business after a five year absence. The program manager has appointed Dave Stricker, former senior vice president of All Risks Ltd., to lead the new Commercial Lines Division. He will be responsible for building out the commercial insurance program and managing general agency (MGA) operations.

According to Stricker, St. James commercial lines will originally focus on four key areas: habitational, vacant properties, artisan contractors and mercantile. The company will concentrate on smaller accounts with about $20,000 or below in premium.

St. James exited the commercial insurance business with the sale of those operations to Brown & Brown in 2005 and focused on personal lines MGA and programs.

The company now has writings in excess of $315 million in personal lines premium. The non-compete agreement established with the Brown & Brown sale expired this year and St. James is anxious to return to commercial lines, according to Stricker.

“It’s a benefit to us to be able to get back into the business we are good at,” said Stricker.

Stricker believes that his company’s location in Florida and the wind exposures faced there provide opportunities, especially since the company has experience with these issues on the personal lines side.

“There is a big need for underwriting property with wind issues,” Stricker said. “Since we have written over $300 million in personal lines with a majority of that exposed to hurricane, we believe we can utilize those capabilities on the commercial side.”

Stricker plans to expand St. James geographic footprint beyond its current states of Florida and South Carolina, and eventually beyond the Southeast. He expects St. James will be writing in Georgia sometime this year, followed by North Carolina and Virginia in 2011 and 2012, as well as other Mid-Atlantic states in the next two years.

St. James will look for both independent and captive agents to work with on commercial business.

SUNZ Insurance

SUNZ Insurance Co., a St. Petersburg, Florida-based insurer, has added five states to its coverage area for writing workers’ compensation policies. Known primarily for its presence in Florida, SUNZ said it is now also able to write in Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama and Georgia. SUNZ targets staffing companies and professional employer organizations (PEOs).

Accoroding to Doug Lilak, CEO, further expansion is planned. “This is only the beginning for us, we hope to add several other states within the next couple of months,” he said in a statement.

Topics Florida