In late July, medical professional liability insurer NORCALMutual Insurance Co. of San Francisco, Calif., said it entered intoa definitive merger agreement to acquire Medicus Insurance HoldingsInc. of Austin, Texas—in a deal that will expand NORCAL’sgeographic reach.

Financial terms of the deal, which includes Medicus’ whollyowned subsidiary, Medicus Insurance Co., were not disclosed.

Medicus is admitted to write business in 31 states throughoutthe country, NORCAL says. In 2010, Medicus had direct writtenpremiums of $54 million. According to Highline Data, a dataaffiliate of National Underwriter, NORCAL’s $240 millionin direct medical-malpractice premiums written for 2010 weredistributed across six states, with California representing 62percent and Pennsylvania, another 29 percent of the total.

Highline ranks NORCAL as the 11^th largest medicalprofessional liability insurer based on 2010 direct writtenpremiums. Together with Medicus, ranked No. 39, the combinedcompanies would sit in 10^th place based on 2010 directmedical-professional liability written premiums.

In a statement announcing the deal, Jim Sunseri, president andCEO of NORCAL Group, notes that NORCAL’s capital resources, coupledwith its A.M. Best rating of “A,” enable Medicus to continue on agrowth trajectory.

Walter Keenan, chairman of Medicus, says that NORCAL Group,which includes NORCAL Mutual and PMSLIC Insurance Co. ofMechanicsburg, Pa., “is among the most respected companies in theindustry.” Eugenie Shea, president of Medicus, highlights theshared values of the two organizations, producing a strongcombination to serve doctors throughout the United States. “Theseshared values align for the physician’s peace of mind throughpersonal service from an A-rated company,” Shea says.

NORCAL says Shea will continue in a leadership position withMedicus following the closing, and that Medicus will remainheadquartered in Austin.

Medicus expects to continue its current operations withoutchange for the foreseeable future, the announcement says.