Insurance groups merge

The American Insurance Association and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America merged effective Jan. 1.

The new organization is known as the American Property Casualty Insurance Association and will speak for nearly 60% of the U.S. property/casualty market, according to a statement released Dec. 21.

“We are pleased to announce the respective memberships of AIA and PCI have strongly approved a merger,” Anthony J. Kuczinski, president and chief executive officer of Munich Reinsurance America Inc. and chair of the board of directors of the AIA, and Pete McPartland, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Sentry Insurance and chair of the board of governors of the PCI, said in the statement.

Of the 309 ballots distributed to PCI members, 221 members, or 71.5%, voted in favor of the merger while three members voted against a merger and one member abstained from voting.

“Some work still lies ahead to fully integrate the two organizations, and AIA and PCI staff are committed to maintaining continuity during the transition, delivering a strong value proposition to our members and providing ongoing thought leadership for the industry,” they continued.

Spokespersons for the two organizations could not be immediately reached for additional comment.