Binghamton insurance firm sells group division to Indiana company, which moves N.Y. corporate office to Binghamton

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — A Binghamton life-insurance firm has sold its group life, disability and accident-insurance division to an Indiana firm whose CEO is a Binghamton University graduate.

The Indiana firm also has a New York sister company that will move its corporate office to Binghamton as part of the transaction.

Binghamton–based Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York on Tuesday announced the group-division sale agreement with Indianapolis, Indiana–based Renaissance Life & Health Insurance Company of America. The agreement also involved its sister company, Renaissance Life & Health Insurance Company of New York.

Security Mutual’s group division represented less than 5 percent of the company’s $379.3 million in gross direct insurance premiums last year, according to a company news release.

In addition to Renaissance Life & Health Insurance Company of New York relocating its corporate office to downtown Binghamton, the transaction also involved Renaissance establishing a group-operation facility in Binghamton. Also, Security Mutual’s 34 group-division employees have joined Renaissance.

Neither firm released financial terms of the sale agreement.

“We are pleased to welcome Renaissance to the Binghamton community, and we expect this transaction will enhance the ability of each company to serve the diverse and emerging insurance needs of its customers throughout the United States, as well as promote employment in greater Binghamton,” Bruce Boyea, chairman, president, and CEO of Security Mutual, said in the release.

“This transaction demonstrates our strategic commitment to broaden and enhance our insurance product offerings and position our company as a multi-line ancillary insurance leader,” Robert Mulligan, president and CEO of Renaissance, said. “We believe the addition of Security Mutual’s group operation will create a seamless buying and service experience for our key customer segments, which include brokers and the employers and employees they trust us to insure.”

Mulligan is also a graduate of Binghamton University.

Working relationship

For the past three years, Renaissance and Security Mutual have worked together to jointly market each other’s products in their respective markets, per the release.

By offering group life and disability products through Security Mutual, Renaissance was able to “expand the appeal of its dental and vision plans with a packaged ancillary solution.”

And Security Mutual said it likewise “successfully augmented” its offerings with dental and vision insurance from Renaissance.

Security Mutual will continue to focus on expanding its core individual life insurance, annuity, financial institutions, and worksite voluntary life businesses. The company will offer its customers group life, disability, accident, dental and vision products through Renaissance.

Renaissance customers in turn will be able to access Security Mutual’s individual life and worksite voluntary life and annuity-product offerings.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com