Auto Club Insurance Association Acquires Fremont Insurance Company

DEARBORN, MI--Aug. 1, 2011: Auto Club Insurance Association, a Dearborn, Michigan-based insurer (ACIA), is pleased to announce it has acquired Fremont Insurance Company through a merger transaction with its parent company, Fremont Michigan InsuraCorp, Inc.  Fremont's broad array of product offerings, distribution of business in western and northern Michigan, long-standing independent agency relationships, and robust financial performance are expected to immediately benefit the enterprise, with the transaction providing longer-term opportunities and possibilities for both organizations as a whole.

Headquartered in Fremont, Michigan, the company provides property and casualty insurance to individuals, farms and small businesses exclusively in Michigan.  Its workforce includes approximately 75 employees and a network of more than 170 independent agencies.

Richard E. Dunning, President and CEO of Fremont, will remain in his current position. Under his leadership, Fremont will be managed separately as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ACIA and continue to operate under the Fremont name.

ACIA offers a full range of personal lines insurance products and services through a network of over 600 captive agents and more than 1,100 independent agents located throughout the Midwest.  It is an affiliate of AAA Auto Club Group, which provides membership, travel, and financial services to more than 4.2 million members in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.  

Philo Smith Capital Corporation served as financial advisor to Fremont and Sherman & Company Holdings, formerly known as LMC Capital LLC, served as financial advisor to ACIA on this transaction.  Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn LLP and Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC provided legal advice to Fremont.  Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP provided legal advice to ACIA.