Access Holdco Enters Mass. Marketplace With Purchase of Occidental’s Mass. Non-Standard Auto Insurance Book

Based in Atlanta, Access is a top 30 non-standard auto group in the USA

Managing general agency Access HoldCo has officially entered into the Massachusetts automobile insurance marketplace this month with the purchase of the Occidental Fire & Casualty Company of North Carolina’s Massachusetts non-standard auto insurance book. A diversified property and casualty insurance company, Occidental is a part of the privately-held IAT Insurance Group and has a Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (ICR) of “a-” by A.M. Best.

IAT is transitioning its directly produced (core) auto book to Access through the sale, but will continue to act as the issuing carrier via its subsidiary, Occidental Insurance Company. The Massachusetts book of business is approximately $35 million in annual premium and is distributed through a network of independent insurance producers. The purchase of the Occidental non-standard book constitutes a substantial stepping stone in Access’ evolution to diversify its offerings to their producers and insureds.

For Access, the purchase of Occidental’s non-standard book is a significant step for the agency in its goal to expand and diversify its offerings to its producers and insureds. Occidental’s Massachusetts book of business, which is distributed through independent insurance producers, is valued at approximately $35 million in annual premium.

Commenting on his company’s acquisition, Access President and CEO Michael McMenamin, said, “We are excited about the opportunity to enter the Massachusetts auto insurance market and further diversify our book of business. We are very pleased to partner with IAT and use our platform and expertise to manage the Occidental program.”

Upon completion of the deal, which was announced on November 30th, IAT will transition its core auto insurance book over to Access. IAT, however, will continue to act as the issuing carrier for the book of business through its subsidiary, Occidental Insurance Company.

“We’ve long admired Access’ expertise in managing non-standard auto programs, as well as their technology platform, use of metrics and analytics, and first-class services,” said Bill Cunningham, Chief Executive Officer of IAT. “Having Access manage the Occidental Massachusetts book of business gives us great comfort knowing existing policyholders and producers will continue to receive a great product.”

An infusion of capital in 2015, leads to further growth for Access

For those unfamiliar with the Georgia-based Access HoldCo, the company is a full-service managing general agency focused on the non-standard auto insurance market. Founded in 1994 by Michael McMenamin, the company originates, underwrites and provides policy and claims management to its insurance company partners.

On January 5, 2016, the company announced majority equity investment by San Francisco’s Altamont Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm with over $1 billion of capital under management. In another interesting connection with Massachusetts, Boston’s Ropes & Gray represented Altamont in that deal. As a result of this major investment, Access has begun to focus on growing its non-standard auto book of business via targeted acquisitions.

Keoni Schwartz, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Altamont Capital Partners, also weighed in on this latest acquisition by Access saying, “We are thrilled with the purchase of Occidental’s Massachusetts business from the IAT Insurance Group, and are focused on supporting Access through other targeted acquisitions that leverage the scale and diversity of the Access technology platform and services.