The impact of consolidation within the property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry on insurance defense law firms is best understood when looking at the number of insurance industry mergers and acquisitions that have taken place in the last five years, as listed below.

Insurance Industry MergersIn many instances the existing defense panel counsel program was consolidated at the new parent company level, leaving fewer opportunities for insurance defense law firms that were panel counsel members.

More than 30 P&C insurance companies changed hands between 2014 and the late summer of 2019, according to our research of news reports.

In some cases there were sequential mergers, such as when Western World Insurance was acquired by Validus Holdings, Ltd. in October 2014 with Validus later acquired by AIG in 2018.

2021 Insurance Industry Mergers, Acquisitions and Liquidations

  • The Hartford received an unsolicited $23.2 billion bid from Chubb in March 2021. Stay tuned!
  • Florida Casualty Insurance Co., formerly Ashmere Insurance Co., was acquired by Applied Underwriters in March 2021.

2020 Insurance Industry Mergers, Acquisitions and Liquidations

  • Euclid Executive Liability Managers was acquired by AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. January 2020.
  • Global Hawk Insurance Company RRG is liquidating under the direction of a Vermont court.
  • National General Holdings Corporation is being acquired by Allstate in a $4 billion cash deal expected to close in early 2021.
  • NORCAL Group was acquired by ProAssurance Corporation (NYSE: PRA). Both are specialty insurers with extensive expertise in healthcare professional liability. The transaction results in the creation of the nation’s third largest medical professional liability (MPL) insurance carrier, based on 2019 estimated statutory data. February 2020.
  • Prepared Insurance Company was acquired from Prepared Holdings Group by its affiliate Lighthouse Property Insurance Corporation. Lighthouse is a Louisiana-domiciled P&C insurance carrier authorized to write policies in Louisiana, Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina. Prepared is a Florida-domiciled P&C insurance carrier authorized to write in Florida and Louisiana. June 2020.
  • Privilege Underwriters, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“Pure Group”), a U.S. insurance group specializing in the U.S. high net worth insurance market, was acquired by Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc. through TMHD’s wholly owned subsidiary HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. February 2020.
  • Spinnaker Insurance Company, a national property and casualty insurer licensed in 50 states and rated A- (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company, was acquired by Hippo in September 2020. As part of the acquisition, Spinnaker joined Hippo’s family of companies.

2019 Insurance Industry Mergers and Acquisitions

  • Ameriprise Auto & Home, the property and casualty insurance business of Ameriprise Financial that primarily sells its products through a partnership with wholesale retailer Costco, is being acquired by American Family Insurance Mutual Holding Company for $1.05 billion in cash. Announced April 2019.
  • Aspen Insurance Holdings was acquired by Apollo Global Management for approximately $2.6 billion. February 2019
  • Atlantic Specialty Lines, Inc. merged with RT Specialty as of June 1, 2019.
  • Capital Insurance Group in California was acquired by Auto-Owners Insurance. May 2019.
  • Capitol Preferred Insurance merged with Southern Fidelity Property and Casualty. March 2019.
  • Hospitals Insurance Company (HIC), a New York State admitted and licensed insurance company, and FOJP Service Corporation, a New York TPA, were acquired by The Doctors Company. August 2019.
  • Ironshore Europe DAC, an Irish carrier, and London-based Pembroke Managing Agency Limited, were purchased by Hamilton Insurance Group. The seller was Liberty Mutual. August 2019.
  • Motorists Insurance Group and BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. rebranded as Encova Mutual Insurance Group following the announcement of the new brand name and identity. June 2019.
  • Navigators Group was acquired by The Hartford in a $2.1 billion cash transaction. May 2019.
  • Rider Insurance Company, a New Jersey motorcycle insurer, was acquired by Plymouth Rock Assurance. Announced July 2019.
  • Windhaven Insurance Company was ordered into receivership for purposes of rehabilitation by the Second Judicial Circuit Court in Leon County, Florida. December 2019.

The following is not a merger or acquisition, but also of potential interest.

Medmarc Insurance Group, a subsidiary of ProAssurance Corporation, and Pharmacists Mutual Group announced a strategic alliance to package industry-specific insurance coverages to the life sciences companies. Announced February 2019.

2018 Acquisitions

  • American Family Insurance Mutual Holding Co. merged with The Main Street America Group. October 2018.
  • Glatfelter Insurance Group, a full-service broker and insurance company providing services for specialty programs and retail operations, was acquired by AIG. November 2018.
  • Infinity Property and Casualty Corp. was acquired by Kemper Corp. for $1.6 billion. July 2018.
  • MLMIC Insurance Company, formerly known as Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Company, was acquired by National Indemnity Company, a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary. October 2018.
  • NAS Insurance Services, LLC, a national leader in cyber and professional liability solutions, was acquired by Tokio Marine HCC. April 2018
  • QBE North America sold its personal insurance business (auto and property lines) in 47 states to Safeco, a Liberty Mutual division. Safeco will strengthen its personal auto and personal property coverage, while QBE will focus on commercial, specialty, program, crop, the Westwood insurance agency, and reinsurance. August 2018.
  • Validus Holdings, Ltd. was acquired by AIG. The transaction includes Validus Re, a leading reinsurance platform; AlphaCat, a securities asset manager; Talbot, a Lloyd’s syndicate; Western World, a specialist in U.S. small commercial excess and surplus underwriting; and Crop Risk Services, which provides access to the North American crop insurance market. July 2018.
  • XL Group was acquired by AXA. The new firm is known as AXA XL. September 2018.

2017 Mergers and Acquisitions

  • Allied World Assurance Company (AWAC), a leading global property, casualty and specialty insurer and reinsurer, was acquired by Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. for $4.9 billion. Fairfax, the parent company of Crum & Forster, is a Toronto-based holding company involved in property and casualty insurance, reinsurance and investment management. July 2017.
  • Concord General Mutual Insurance group of companies begins its affiliation with the Auto-Owners family. April 2017.
  • CopperPoint Insurance Company acquired Pacific Compensation Insurance Company of California from Alleghany Insurance Holdings LLC. Announced September 2017.
  • Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. is acquired by SOMPO Holdings, Inc., one of Japan’s top three insurers, in a $6.3 billion transaction.
  • Hamilton USA, a unit of Hamilton Insurance Group, was acquired by AIG for $110 million in October 2017 after Hamilton CEO Brian Duperreault moved to take the leadership role at AIG.
  • Ironshore Inc., previously owned by Fosun International, was acquired by Liberty Mutual Insurance. The U.S. specialty lines business of Ironshore will be combined with the U.S. business of Liberty International Underwriters (LIU), a Liberty Mutual subsidiary. The Ironshore brand will remain in use. May 2017.
  • State National Companies, Inc. is acquired by Markel Corporation. November 2017.

2016 Acquisitions

  • Chubb Corporation was acquired by ACE Limited for $28.3 billion. Chubb is the name of the surviving entity. January 2016.
  • Maxum Specialty Insurance Group was acquired by The Hartford to be run as a separate unit. August 2016.

2015 Acquisitions

  • Catlin Group Limited was acquired by XL Group Plc. XL Catlin became the name of the newly combined company. January 2015.
  • Family Dollar was acquired by Dollar Tree for $8.5 billion. July 2015.
  • HCC Insurance Holdings (initially formed as Houston Casualty Company) was acquired by Tokio Marine Holdings for $7.5 billion. July 2015.
  • LIG Insurance Company Ltd. was acquired by the KB Financial Group Inc. and the company changed its name to KB Insurance Company Ltd. “LIS” remains the management company and the new name for the U.S. operations is Kookmin Best Insurance Co. Ltd. US Branch. June 2015.
  • Meadowbrook Insurance Group (now known as AmeriTrust Group) was acquired by Shanghai-based Fosun International. July 2015.

2014 Acquisitions

  • Preferred Professional Insurance Company (PPIC®), previously owned by a group of Catholic health systems, was acquired by ProMutual, a Coverys company. August 2014.
  • Western World Insurance was acquired by Validus Holdings, Ltd. for $690 million. October 2014.

Earlier Insurance Industry Acquisitions

  • Harleysville Mutual Insurance Co. was acquired by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. for $834 million. May 2012.
  • GUARD Insurance Group was acquired by National Indemnity Company, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. October 2012.

Retail M&A

The two corporate transactions below were also significant to insurance defense law firms, since each entity maintained their own panel counsel program.

  • Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. is the result of the 2017 merger between Knight Transportation, Inc. and Swift Transportation Company. The combined entity is the industry’s largest full truckload company; operating with an extensive fleet of roughly 23,000 tractors, 77,000 trailers, and employing 28,000 people. April 2017.
  • Family Dollar was acquired by Dollar Tree for $8.5 billion. Announced July 2014.

Notes

Dates given are generally the closing date. The focus is primarily on acquisitions of U.S. insurance companies.

Disclaimer: The information contained herein is believed to be accurate but is not guaranteed.

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