Staff Report
Published Jan. 7, 2009

Johnson & Johnson, a family-owned insurance agency based in Mount Pleasant, has acquired Alabama-based Sunbelt General Agency from American Modern Insurance Group.

Sunbelt, which has been a subsidiary of Cincinnati-based American Modern since its inception in 1994, is based in Montgomery, Ala. The agency writes policies for American Modern Insurance Group companies and has an in-house insurance brokerage division and finance division.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed. All current Sunbelt employees will be retained by Johnson & Johnson, according to a news release.

In the release, Johnson & Johnson touted the acquisition as an opportunity to expand its presence in Alabama and Mississippi.

Johnson & Johnson, founded in 1930, serves agents in the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey. The company offers a variety of products, including personal lines, commercial lines and premium financing.

The insurance companies of American Modern Insurance Group provide specialty insurance products and services. Among its other services, American Modern insures manufactured housing, site-built homes, motorcycles, watercraft, snowmobiles, recreational vehicles, classic autos, and long-haul trucks.

Todd Gray, president of American Modern Insurance Group, said in the news release, “Because our business is primarily focused on underwriting as opposed to agency-based production, we feel Sunbelt will be better positioned with one of our top general agent partners.”