On Wednesday, National General Holdings Corp. added another potential deal to a list of a growing list of acquisitions, announced that it has reached an agreement to buy the lender-placed Insurance business of QBE North America for $90 million in cash.
The deal includes the acquisition of certain assets, including loan-tracking systems and technology, client servicing accounts, intellectual property, and vendor relationships. National General will assume all related insurance liabilities in a reinsurance transaction—loss reserves of $92 million, unearned premium reserves of $247 million—and $342 million in invested assets.
Expected to close in 90 days, the deal is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
In a statement, Michael Karfunkel, chairman and chief executive officer of National General, noted that the deal gives National General’s an entry into the lender-placed insurance segment for auto and homeowners risks. “While the lender-placed business has had difficulties in the past, we believe it is now an area of great opportunity after numerous changes that have been enacted throughout the industry,” he said in a statement.
Karfunkel noted that the lender-placed insurance represents a complementary niche business that fits in with National General’s growing personal lines franchise. “We believe it is a natural fit with our homeowners and auto expansion efforts,” he said, indicating that the acquirer will work with the existing management team and employees, providing them access to broad resources and capabilities at National General.
The QBE deal follows National General’s June 10 announcement that it had reached an agreement to acquire parts of Assurant Health’s business, giving it access to roughly $280 million of potential additional accident and health revenues. In January, National General also made a deal in the health care sector, acquiring an Illinois-based managing general agency.
National General and affiliated companies, AmTrust Financial Services and ACP Re, Ltd., were also involved in the acquisition of Tower Group International’s business last year. National General acquired the rights for new and renewal business for Tower’s personal lines business in a deal that closed in September last year.
Source: National General Holdings Corp.