QBE Americas has agreed to acquire NAU Country Insurance Co., a writer of crop insurance business based in Ramsey, Minn. Completion is expected in July 2010, subject to regulatory approvals.
The acquisition supports QBE’s commitment to growing the business through product diversification and new distribution channels. QBE the Americas is a U.S. property and casualty insurer with $4 billion in gross written premium in 2009. Following this acquisition, it estimates gross written premium will be more than $5 billion in 2010.
In 2009, NAU wrote $976 million of gross earned premium. Net earned premium was $354 million and profit after tax was $92.5 million. The combined operating ratio was 61.3 percent in 2009, 87.3 percent in 2008 and 62.6 percent in 2007.
NAU writes multi-peril crop insurance (MPCI), a U.S. Department of Agriculture program that provides protection against weather-related and other unavoidable causes of crop loss. The company operates ten offices across the U.S. and has more than 1,600 independent agents.
QBE Americas’ CEO John Rumpler said the acquisition will complement QBE’s agricultural book of business.
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