M & A, Alliances

MajescoMastek Partners With Appian

February 6, 2012

MajescoMastek, a technology solutions provider, has partnered with Appian, an enterprise, cloud-based business process management (BPM) software company. The partnership will offer financial services and insurance clients the combined benefits of the Appian BPM Suite and MajescoMastek's domain knowledge, engagement delivery model and systems integration experience.

Appian’s BPM Suite makes BPM universally accessible and personalized to individual needs, says MajescoMastek, allowing an organization and its customers the benefit of a high-quality process and user experience. Financial services and insurance clients can leverage MajescoMastek's experience in architecting, designing and implementing mission-critical enterprise applications.

MajescoMastek says it is investing to create a dedicated competency center around Appian technology. The company is also co-creating a series of templates and frameworks to enable insurance and financial sector clients to accelerate implementation of the Appian BPM suite, yet allow flexibility and customization.

Chartis Purchases Service Net

February 2, 2012

Chartis has acquired Service Net Warranty LLC. Chartis will integrate Service Net into its U.S. Warranty Division, which currently services more than 75 million active contracts. Chartis says the acquisition will enhance its insurers’ position as an underwriter of warranty business, and provide value-added services to other consumer products within the Chartis portfolio. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Service Net is a provider of administration, extended service programs, customer service support, service network management, claims processing services, and service contract underwriting services, says Chartis. Service Net provides warranty/extended service plan administration and services for a variety of manufacturers, retailers, buying groups and distributors, including a number of Fortune 1,000 companies.

Chartis says that a key differentiator for the company is a customer-driven focus to build programs that not only generate revenue, but also help clients build long-term customer retention and brand loyalty.

BB&T to Acquire Crump

February 3, 2012

BB&T Corporation and its subsidiary Raleigh, N.C.-based BB&T Insurance, announced today that it will acquire the life and property/casualty insurance operating divisions of Roseland, N.J.- based Crump Group Inc. Crump is the largest independent wholesale distributor of life insurance and one of the largest providers of wholesale commercial insurance brokerage and specialty programs in the United States, according to BB&T.

BB&T reports that under the terms of the agreement, the company will acquire Crump Life Insurance Services and Crump Property & Casualty Insurance Services for $570 million in cash. The transaction, which exceeds BB&Ts acquisition criteria, is expected to add approximately $300 million in annual revenue to BB&T Insurance. BB&T expects to record approximately $570 million of intangibles as a result of this acquisition. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the first quarter. This transaction does not include Crump’s retirement services business (Ascensus).

Crump Life Insurance Services currently has 23 offices throughout the country that support the sale of life, long-term care, disability and annuity products, and life settlements. Crump has relationships with more than 100 life insurance companies and supports a network of more than 200,000 producers and institutional clients, says BB&T.

Currently, BB&Ts wholesale insurance operations include property/casualty broker CRC Insurance Services, managing general agent Southern Cross TAPCO Underwriters and managing general underwriter AmRisc LLP. Including its retail operations, BB&T Insurance is the sixth largest insurance broker in the United States, reports the company.

Swiss Re, Big “I” Release Risk Management Resource

February 1, 2012

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America's Big “I” Professional Liability Program and Swiss Re Corporate Solutions have launched a risk management website – E&O Happens – available exclusively to agency E&O Swiss Re Corporate Solutions policyholders.

E&O Happens is a large component of the risk management efforts of the Big “I,” as Swiss Re Corporate Solutions’ policyholders will find risk management information and tools to help them avoid future claims, says Big “I.” These include understanding the root causes of E&O claims; prevention tips for all agency staff; sample disclaimers; sample procedures and customer letters; operational self-assessments; real-life case studies for learning; and E&O-related articles.

Big “I” says the website also offers expanded E&O-related content, with the inclusion of the Big “I” Agents Council for Technology (ACT) and Big “I” Virtual University (VU) E&O-related materials.

Manulife and RSA Renew General Insurance Distribution Partnership

January 18, 2012

After 18 years of partnering, Manulife (International) Limited and Royal Sun & Alliance Insurance plc (RSA) jointly renewed their general insurance distribution agreement for another five years.

Manulife will continue to offer a series of general insurance products underwritten by RSA. The companies say the partnership enables Manulife to distribute RSA’s range of co-branded personal lines insurance products customized with unique features such as terrorism and passive war cover for travel insurance, critical illness cover for domestic helper insurance and medical care for pet insurance. Other coverage includes protection against unexpected losses arising from property damage, burglary, fire and other unexpected eventualities for small- and medium-sized companies.

“Through our partnership with RSA which is a leading global insurer specializing in general insurance, Manulife has been able to enrich our comprehensive product suite and provide our customers with total financial solutions,” said Michael Huddart, Manulife’s EVP and CEO in Hong Kong. “We are very pleased that both institutions have the same vision—to exceed and excel in product innovation and service excellence.”

Chris Colahan, CEO of RSA Hong Kong said that the 18-year partnership allowed the company to develop a deep understanding of the needs of Manulife agents and customers. “We have used this insight to create a customized, co-branded suite of products that we offer exclusively to Manulife,” he said. “We know how important speed and simplicity of service is to Manulife agents, so we work tirelessly to make ourselves easy to do business with.”

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