OneBeacon sells section of company
SALEM – About one-third of the employees of OneBeacon in Salem could be working for another insurance company within weeks, following a Dec. 3 announcement that The Hanover Insurance Group Inc. has purchased renewal rights to a block of OneBeacon’s commercial insurance section.
That portion is property and casualty insurance for small and middle-size businesses.
The acquisition does not involve OneBeacon’s specialty products, a spokesman for The Hanover said Wednesday. Interviews took place this week and The Hanover has offered jobs to about 50 people, said spokesman Mike Buckley, and almost all have accepted. Buckley said in a telephone interview Dec. 9 he expects the remainder to accept soon.
“We are excited to have some very talented and committed people and have them joining our team, said Buckley, who is in The Hanover’s headquarters in Worcester, Mass.
When OneBeacon cut the ribbon on its new national service facility in Salem in November 2005, it had 172 employees who provide underwriting, policy processing, technical support and other services. OneBeacon spokesmen did not return phone calls by press time Wednesday, to answer questions about how many employees will stay with that company in Salem.
The Hanover issued a press release Dec. 3 about its acquisition of OneBeacon. According to a Dec. 4 Telegram.com and Dec. 3 article on CNNMoney.com, The Hanover’s purchase of renewal rights to OneBeacon Insurance Group’s product will add between 100 and 120 employees from OneBeacon offices in Salem and Buffalo, N.Y.
The change for affected employees will begin Jan. 1, Buckley said, and not until Jan. 1 for policy renewal rights.
OneBeacon’s 33,000-square-foot building is across from the Salem Civic Center and Salem Stadium. The company acquired most of its commercial business from Atlantic Mutual in April 2004. OneBeacon hired 128 Atlantic Mutual employees initially.
The local Atlantic Mutual headquarters then was located in a larger building on Electric Road just across the Salem line in Roanoke County, near Lewis-Gale Medical Center. That building is now the home of TMEIC, which relocated from a shared building with General Electric in Salem.
When OneBeacon Insurance Group cut the ribbon on its new building, the company was a subsidiary of White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd.
According to Telegram.com, OneBeacon reported a net loss of $382.7 million for 2008, primarily due to significant investment losses.
The Hanover Insurance Group is based in Worcester, Mass., and is said to rank among the top 30 property and casualty insurers in the United States.
