Erhard.
BIM/

SIZZLING SUMMER SAVINGS

No Charge Scheduled Maintenance-36 months or 36,000 miles

'97 BMW 318ti

Merton Segal:
From basement to 600 employees.

Casualty Insurance Company in
1990.
Meadowbrook's Star Insurance
Company was a start-from-scratch
firm established in 1985 by Mr.
Segal and officers of his company.
Creation of the company became
necessary when regular licensed
insurance carriers stopped sup-
porting Meadowbrook's programs.
According to Mr. Segal, Star be-
gan operation with a Michigan-
only license and with only
$750,000 in capital surplus. To-
day, the company is licensed in 49
states and the District of Colum-
>Dia. But you won't find them in the
smallest state, Rhode Island, be-
cause Mr. Segal doesn't think

Defining A
Captive

A captive insurance company
is a corporation organized pri-
marily to provide insurance
for its owners by assuming all
or part of its owner's exposure
to financial loss either as di-
rect insurance or reinsurance.
A pure captive is a captive
with one single parent share-
holder.
Captives became a hot com-
modity after 1965's Hurricane
Betsy disaster, when insur-
ance companies forced major
corporations to assume high-
er property deductibles. Many
responded by forming captives
as a vehicle to fund these high-
er deductibles.
When many insurance buy-
ers couldn't find coverage at
any price, even more captives
were formed to provide such
coverages as medical mal-
practice, product liability, gen-
era]. liability and professional
liability for their parents.

there's enough business to write
there.
Under the IPO, Meadowbrook
and Star were merged into the
Meadowbrook Insurance Group,
Inc. The company has an A- rat-
ing (excellent) from A.M. Best, the
Standard and Poor's of the insur-
ance industry.
Meadowbrook's capital and sur-
plus overall recently passed $100
million, and its assets surpassed
$250 million. It is ranked 24th on
the 1996 Business Insurance list
of the 100 largest brokers of U.S.
business, with 1995 revenue of
more than $33 million.
The company started out 41
years ago as a personal insurance
agency in the state of Michigan.
Today, it is the largest insurance
service organization in Michigan.
"We offer growth through
Meadowbrook Insurance Agency
traditional and the alternative risk
services. Our client base is made
up of Michigan 100-type compa-
nies in addition to individuals,
groups, and associations," said Mr.
Segal.
. "The overall strategy of the or-
ganization from a marketing
standpoint is that we've broken
the country down into five regions:
Northeast, we have an office in
New York City; Midwest, we have
our headquarters in Michigan;
Mid-Atlantic area, we have offices
in Kansas City; Southeast, we
have offices and representation in
Florida, although our actual
Southeast base is in Montgomery,
Ala.; and the West, where part of
our marketing strategy was to ac-
quire Crest.
"We also have a major office in
Bloomington, Minn.," Mr. Segal
said.
Meadowbrook Risk Manage-
ment Ltd., an offshore captive
management company formed in
1979, has offices in Bermuda and
Barbados. The company acquired
the Bermuda-based American In-
demnity Insurance Company,

REMOVING page 60

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*36 month closed end lease subject to approved credit with BMWFS. S2500 non-refundable down payment required. Title, licence, and tas acklitiottal. A security deposit of S350.(X) for 318ti. S400.(11 for 318i.
S450.(X)Ibr 328ia. I 0.(XX) miles per year limit. S.15 cents per mile over limit. Option to purchase at lease end of SI6.32 I .50 for 318ti. SI8.027.45 for 318i, 522,899.20 Ibr 328ia.Total payments equal to ad price +
14; X 36. 3181i - Stk. 73 I 0-(X). 318i - Stk. 7739-(Xl. 328ia-Stk. 7742-00.Scheduled Maintenance provided by BMW of North America for a period of 36 months or 36,000 miles. Olier ends July 30. 1997.