Hub releases 2nd quarter, expands South

Publicly traded broker network The Hub Group Ltd. has released its second quarter figures posting promising earnings in the face of many acquisitions. Total revenue in the second quarter amounted to $19.1 million, bringing year to date revenue to $35.2 million. The company, which went public in early 1999, is operating at a profit, with second quarter net earnings of $1.9 million boosting year to date net earnings to $3.3 million. Net earnings per share, year to date, are 21c, with 16.3 million shares outstanding.

The consolidator has continued its busy acquisition tone into the third quarter recently announcing a series of consolidations including J.S. Crawford Insurance Agencies Ltd and Allan Tolsma Agencies Ltd. in British Columbia, and Feder & Associates Insurance Brokers Ltd., Arcon Insurance Brokers Ltd., K.M.S. Insurance Services Ltd., and Underwriting Alliance Group Ltd. in Ontario. The acquisitions add $6.1 million in annual commission revenue to the network.

The Hub Group has also gone cross-border announcing it has signed an agreement to acquire Mack and Parker Inc. of Chicago, Illinois. The agency was formed in 1935 and has annual commission revenue of US$13 million. The network will issue approximately 1.1 million shares on closing of the transaction, which will also see Mack and Parker president Martin Hughes become president of The Hub Group’s U.S. operations.

CSIO and IICC merge networks

The Centre for the Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO) and the Insurance Information Centre of Canada (IICC) have announced a merger of their technology networks, which began July 1. IICC President and CEO Bernard Webber says that IICC will manage the combined networks on behalf of both organizations to provide a single, cost-effective and secure data highway for Canada’s property and casualty insurance industry.

The CSIO reports its network, which was developed for brokers and supporting companies, reduces previous data transmission costs by more than 70%. IICC, with extensive networks already in place, has growing needs to communicate with agents, brokers and insurance companies in Canada. The two organizations believe that the network needs of each can best be met by sharing.

According to CSIO president Klaas Westera, the reduced costs in merging the two networks will be passed on to the end-user brokers and insurers. While IICC will manage the networks, Westera says CSIO will retain a strong presence in its management, by sitting on the network steering committee which will guide the network’s mandate in the future. Westera also denies the move signals any reduction of the CSIO’s role within the industry, and points to some August intiatives including the release of its Commercial General Liability and Tenants Legal Liability standards for Commercial Lines EDI to indicate CSIO’s continued industry role.

Alan Boyes, senior vice president of business development and marketing for the IICC says the move is one of mutual advantage with an eye down the road for further technological network initiatives. “Our plan is to provide a cost-effective secure high quality network focusing on being competitive for users and consumers of the network. The focus right now is on a data highway. This willprovide the backbone for planned future enhancements,” he says.