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Welcome to the second edition of the IMA Industry Update!
The new year is well underway and we hope you and your company are off to a productive and profitable start in 2008. If you are like us, you are spending a great deal of time discussing the U.S. economy, the political environment and the challenges we face in these uncertain times.
Happily, for our clients, the insurance marketplace remains very favorable from a cost perspective. Insurance carriers continue to post favorable profitability numbers, although some deterioration in underwriting results and investment performance are beginning to affect their profitability numbers. Additionally, top line growth is becoming a concern due to the competitive marketplace. Despite these factors, and barring an increase in catastrophic losses, we anticipate this soft market to continue through most of 2008 before it finds a base.
We are pleased to announce two significant events at The IMA Financial Group. First, Bob Reiter has been promoted to President of IMA, Inc. In his new role, Bob will be responsible for the business strategies of our retail insurance companies, IMA of Colorado, IMA of Kansas and IMA of Texas. Bob brings a wealth of experience to this role, and we are very excited to have the benefit of his leadership and management skills as we continue to grow this important segment of our company. Most recently, Bob has been President of IMA of Colorado, and he will remain in that role on an interim basis.
Second, The IMA Financial Group has completed the acquisition of the employees and assets of PWIB-Texas, a wholesale insurance broker and managing general agency specializing in the placement of property and casualty insurance. We have combined the strength of PWIB with ERA, our wholly owned wholesale insurance broker located in Dallas and specializing in the energy industry, to form Towerstone, Inc. The expanded capabilities now available through Towerstone, combined with the financial resources and commitment of The IMA Financial Group, give us a strategic advantage with our clients as we work to find effective solutions for their risk management needs.
We hope you enjoy this newsletter. There is an article from David Strohm - President of IMA’s subsidiary TrueNorth, Inc., a registered investment advisor company - regarding the turmoil in the financial markets, as well as timely articles from our associates regarding risk control and the ever changing world of employee benefits. Please know how much we value your business, and we encourage you to contact us if we might assist you with any questions.
All the best,
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Kurt D. Watson
President and COO
The IMA Financial Group, Inc. |
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