Affirmative Insurance Holdings

Affirmative Insurance Holdings, Inc.
4450 Soujourn Drive, Suite 500
Addison, Texas 75001
Ph 630-560-7205

When it comes to American’s personal automobile insurance policy needs, there’s the Affirmative Insurance Holdings, Inc. (formerly Instant Insurance Holdings, Inc.) to rely on.

Dubbed as “The Company,” or simply “Affirmative,” AIHI is a public automobile insurance firm that first saw light in 1998. It is based in Addison, Texas, with headquarters in Dallas and Fort Worth areas. It specializes in the production and distribution of non-standard plans and other related services to individual United States customers through its subsidiaries in highly targeted geographic markets within 13 states, including California, Florida, Illinois and Louisiana.

Seasoned professionals – chairman and chief executive officer Kevin Callahan, chief operating officer Robert Bondi, general counsel Joseph Fisher, chief financial officer Michael McClure, chief human resources executive Randy Smith, and chief information officer Jerome Zingg – lead Affirmative.

The 1,200-strong Company sells liability-only policies that comprise bodily injury and property damage liability coverage; personal injury protection coverage and/or medical payment coverage; third-party non-standard personal automobile insurance plans; and complementary insurance products, including motorcycle and recreational vehicle coverage, motor club memberships, vehicle protection, travel protection, hospital indemnity, and non-insurance products and services, such as towing, hospital indemnity insurance, and income tax services. Full coverage policies, including collision coverage for damage to the insured vehicle as a result of a collision with another vehicle or object; comprehensive coverage for damages to the insured vehicle as a result of theft, hail, and vandalism; and optional coverage, such as towing, rental reimbursement, and special equipment are also provided.

Independent agents or brokers, unaffiliated underwriting agencies, retail stores, virtual call center, the Internet, and a premium finance company help Affirmative render its services to the public.

Management-wise, Affirmative takes pride in a team that has focused on integrating and growing the underwriting agency operations of each of its acquisitions, consolidating the underwriting, policy administration, claims handling and related functions and systems of the acquired underwriting agencies under the direction of one senior group.

When it comes to sales strategy, operating policies, marketing initiatives and performance targets of each of the acquired retail operations, coordination by centralized retail management teams is key.

The Company was recapitalized in late 2000. The next two years thereafter saw Affirmative acquiring six underwriting and/or retail agencies currently operating in 11 states, and in the succeeding year, two non-standard automobile insurance companies from Vesta Insurance Group, Inc.

A successful initial public offering in July 2004 gave Affirmative $65.3 million in capital. In December of the same year, the Company acquired the assets of 24 retail stores and a franchise operation with 42 franchise locations in Florida; it also raised an additional $30.0 million, thanks to a private placement of a 30-year floating rate trust preferred securities. The proceeds went to the policyholders’ surplus.

The acquisition of 12 more retail stores in Texas and Michigan further took Affirmative’s gross written premium to approximately $157 million in 2005. By 2006, it had attained a revenue of $357 million – and counting.

In 2007, Affirmative acquired USAgencies, a non-standard automobile insurance provider headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to widen its reach yet again.

As of December 31, 2009, Affirmative owns and operates 201 retail stores across.