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A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating to B++ (Good) from B+ (Good) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “bbb” from “bbb-“of Proformance Insurance Company (Proformance). Concurrently, A.M. Best has upgraded the ICR to “bb” from “bb-” of Proformance’s holding company, National Atlantic Holdings Corporation (National Atlantic) (both of Freehold, NJ) (NASDAQ:… Continue reading A.M. Best Upgrades Ratings of Proformance Insurance Company

QBE Insurance Group Limited (QBE) announced today that it has completed the funding of the recently announced US acquisitions of Praetorian Financial Group and Winterthur US. This involved the successful issue to institutional investors of 20 years zero coupon Liquid Yield OptioN securities (“LYONs”) raising £258 million or approximately A$605 million net funds after expenses. … Continue reading QBE Completes Funding for US Acquisitions

A.M. Best Co. has removed from under review with positive implications the financial strength rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) of State-Wide Insurance Company (State-Wide) (Hempstead, NY). A.M. Best has also upgraded the FSR to A+ (Superior) and assigned an issuer credit rating (ICR) of “aa-” to State-Wide. The outlook assigned to all ratings is stable. … Continue reading A.M. Best Removes Rating of State-Wide Insurance Company From Under Review; Assigns and Upgrades Ratings

“We are pleased to complete this transaction,” said David Eslick, who will remain Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of USI. “I am profoundly grateful to our senior leadership, sales professionals and associates generally for their steadfast support and incredible focus during this long, but successful transaction process. We are extremely excited about the next… Continue reading USI Holdings Corporation today announced the completion of the merger in which USI has been acquired by GS Capital Partners, a private equity affiliate of Goldman, Sachs & Co.

A.M. Best Co. has commented that the ratings of Ohio Casualty Corporation (Ohio Casualty) (Fairfield, OH) (NASDAQ: OCAS – News) and its operating subsidiaries remain unchanged following today’s announcement that Liberty Mutual Group, Inc. (LMGI) will be acquiring Ohio Casualty.    ADVERTISEMENT    LMGI and Ohio Casualty have executed a purchase agreement and are entering… Continue reading A.M. Best Comments on the Pending Acquisition of The Ohio Casualty Corporation by Liberty Mutual Holding Company, Inc.

ABD Insurance & Financial Services will become part of Wells Fargo Insurance Services Inc. under an all-stock deal, valued at about $1.5 billion, that was announced late Friday by parent companies Wells Fargo & Co. and Greater Bay Bancorp. The deal comes on the heels of speculation that East Palo Alto, Calif.-based Greater Bay, which… Continue reading ABD Insurance & Financial Services will become part of Wells Fargo Insurance Services Inc.

Liberty Mutual Group (“Liberty Mutual”) and Ohio Casualty Corporation (“Ohio Casualty”) (NASD: OCAS) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Liberty Mutual will acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Ohio Casualty for $44.00 per share in cash. Ohio Casualty Corporation is the holding company of The Ohio… Continue reading Liberty Mutual Group to Acquire Ohio Casualty Corporation

Dear Tri-City Brokerage and BISYS Specialty Programs Clients: We wanted to make sure you are aware of some important news regarding our company. It was publicly announced on May 2, 2007 that our parent company, BISYS Group, has reached an agreement in principle to be acquired by Citi. The commercial insurance services division, which includes… Continue reading BISYS Group, has reached an agreement in principle to be acquired by Citi.

Safeco (NYSE: SAF – News) today announced it has executed a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan to purchase up to $250 million of its outstanding common stock. A Rule 10b5-1 plan allows Safeco to repurchase its shares during periods when the company would normally not be active in the market because of its own internal trading… Continue reading Safeco Announces $250 Million Share Repurchase

A.M. Best Co. has assigned the financial strength rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a-” to the newly formed pool, First Mercury Group (First Mercury) (Chicago, IL) and its members. The group consists of First Mercury Insurance Company (FMIC), which previously had a stand-alone FSR of A- (Excellent) and All… Continue reading A.M. Best Assigns Ratings to First Mercury Group