Buckeye Announces Affiliation with Middle Georgia Mutual
February 4, 2011, Piqua, OH. Buckeye State Mutual Insurance Company (BSMIC), a property and casualty insurer based in Piqua, OH, has announced its agreement to affiliate with Middle Georgia Mutual Insurance Company (MGM) of Griffin, GA. The agreement is contingent upon regulatory approval from the Ohio and Georgia Departments of Insurance, as well as the boards of both Buckeye and MGM, with a final closing expected by March 31, 2011. This affiliation will be through pooling and reinsurance agreements with BSMIC holding a majority on the MGM board. Terry R. Gordy will continue as President of MGM and report to R. Douglas Haines, President and CEO of BSMIC.
"We are a progressive company partnering with independent agents who share our vision to provide our policyholders with quality insurance protection at competitive, stable rates, and we find Middle Georgia Mutual embraces the same business philosophies," says Douglas Haines.
Middle Georgia Mutual was founded in 1894, writing $6.7 million in direct premium in 2010. Also categorized as a property and casualty insurer, MGM markets their product in rural Georgia aligning effectively with Buckeye’s current rural exposure in the Midwestern states of Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Colorado.
"The affiliation with Buckeye comes at an opportune time for MGM, allowing us to expand our products in Georgia while utilizing Buckeye’s back office functions in order to streamline expenses," says Terry Gordy.
BSMIC offers personal auto, home, farm, farm auto, dwelling fire, and personal umbrella insurance. Buckeye has positioned the stability and success of their company on the strength of their partnership with over 170 independent agents. They concluded 2010 with direct written premiums in excess of $62 million.
"We look forward to a long lasting affiliation with Middle Georgia Mutual and are excited by the opportunities it provides for each company," says Haines.
Buckeye Insurance Group Launches Marias Technology
December 15, 2010, Piqua, OH. Buckeye Insurance Group, of Piqua, Ohio, recently announced the formation of Marias Technology, an information technology company. Marias Technology provides a wide range of IT services in areas such as system and web hosting, information technology consulting, and business process outsourcing items including document printing, assembly, and mailing. For insurance companies, Marias can provide a specialized segment of services in areas of computer system migration, process improvements, computer system testing, and insurance technology consulting.
Aside from the services listed above, an area of concentration for Marias is providing business continuity and availability services for businesses of all sizes and in all industries. For years business continuity was mainly referred to as disaster recovery. The basic concept is still the same, but the need for business continuity has moved well past disasters. With most businesses operating in what is a 24/7 world and their clients expecting instant access to their services, any downtime at all is no longer acceptable. As a result, classic disaster recovery has moved on to concepts like stand-by servers, data storage, and stand-by offices.
Buckeye has revamped portions of their former corporate offices in Covington, Ohio, to facilitate the needs of Marias Technology. The building features a fully-functioning computer datacenter to fulfill the needs of Marias’ system and website hosting clients. For those Marias clients who desire business continuity and availability services, the building features stand-by workstations, each with a computer with internet access, a phone, as well as access to printers, copiers, and fax machines. These stand-by workstations can be reserved in blocks of five, up to 25 per client and beyond. The building features multiple internet connections from multiple internet providers, to allow for redundancy should one internet connection fail. The building is also equipped with battery backup and generator power for use when power may not be available.
“We are very excited about the opportunities that Marias Technology will bring us,” says R. Douglas Haines, President and CEO of Buckeye Insurance Group. “With insurance being a regulated industry, our IT functions have been monitored and forced to perform at a high standard for many years. Through Marias Technology we can pass on some of that experience and expertise to our customers.”
Marias Technology will be led by Buckeye Insurance Group’s Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Technical Operations, R. Christopher Haines, and Information Systems Manager, Jim Kessler.
The Marias (pronounced marr-eye-ess) name originates from a high mountain pass in the Montana Rockies. The discovery of the pass helped many people find their way over the mountain. Marias Technology’s motto is “Helping businesses over the technology mountain.” In addition to Marias Technology, Buckeye Insurance Group operates Buckeye State Mutual Insurance Company and Home and Farm Insurance Company. Buckeye markets property and casualty insurance products in seven states throughout rural mid-America. Specializing in farm, home, and auto insurance, Buckeye prides itself in providing quality service through personal relationships with both its agents and customers alike. Additional information about Marias Technology is available at www.mariastechnology.com and about Buckeye Insurance Group at www.buckeye-ins.com.