M&A I: Swett & Crawford/Cooper Gay


Swett & Crawford taps into the global reinsurance market, while Cooper Gay builds a bigger presence in the United States.


“You don’t just one day decide, I think I’ll get into the global business. It’s a network of people. It’s having the infrastructure to handle that. There are a lot of things that go into being able to do that. It’s not like opening an offi ce in Des Moines.”


Neal Abernathy, Swett & Crawford


Given the relatively tranquil pattern of M&A activity in recent years, the announcement of a merger between Cooper Gay and Swett & Crawford was one of the bigger surprises of 2010. That combination should bring both companies in the deal to positions their competitors may struggle to follow, Neal Abernathy said.


“I’m really excited about the reinsurance operation because it gives us an opportunity to do things for our markets and our insureds that we’ve not had the capability to do in the past, as well as the global nature of the organization now,” Abernathy said.


As a result, Swett & Crawford brokers may now fi nd it easier to land multinational accounts. Reinsurance business that might have gone elsewhere may now stay within the organization, Abernathy said.


Matthew Power pointed to the diversifi cation that comes from the large-scale mergers announced by both Swett & Crawford and AmWINS. “Our global property business, for instance, at Lexington Insurance Company, is one that we’re very bullish on. I think both Swett and AmWINS will be conduits to growing that.”


Copyright © 2010 by A.M. Best Company, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means; electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise.


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