Lawrence R. Hamilton

Larry is a member of Mayer Brown’s Insurance Industry Transactions and Convergence Solutions group, which uses the combined talents of the firm’s insurance, capital markets and finance practices to ensure that transactions take into account the needs and expectations of all three markets.

Larry also advises clients in connection with corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, reserve financings, insurance-linked securities, pension risk transfers and the regulation of financial guarantees and other forms of non-payment insurance.

Larry's expertise and dedication to his practice have earned him a Band 2 ranking in Chambers USA—a distinction recognizing the nation's leading practitioners.

• Represented a private equity firm and its portfolio company in the acquisition of a life insurance company.
• Represented an investment management firm in the acquisition of a life insurance company.
• Represented Ascot Group Limited in its acquisition of Greyhawk Insurance Company, a Colorado-domiciled insurance company, and Greyhawk Specialty Insurance Company, a Rhode Island-domiciled insurance company.
• Represented Assured Guaranty Ltd. in its acquisition of MBIA UK Insurance Limited, the European operating subsidiary of MBIA Corp.  
• Represented Assured Guaranty in its $450 million acquisition of CIFG Holding, a legacy financial guaranty insurance company.
• Represented Wells Fargo in the sale of Wells Fargo Insurance Services USA, which includes its Insurance Brokerage and Consulting, Employee Benefits and Property & Casualty national practices, along with Safehold Special Risk, Small Business Insurance, Student Insurance, Individual Health and Private Risk Management Insurance business lines, to USI Insurance Services LLC.
• Represented Everest Reinsurance Holdings, Inc., in the $49 million sale of Heartland Crop Insurance, Inc., a managing general agent in the crop insurance industry, to CGB Diversified Services, Inc.
• Represented Everest Reinsurance Holdings, Inc. in the sale of Mt. McKinley Insurance Company to Clearwater Insurance Company, an affiliate of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited.
• Represented Assured Guaranty Ltd. in its $810 million acquisition of Radian Asset Assurance Inc., a US-based provider of financial guaranty insurance and reinsurance, from Radian Group Inc.
• Represented Bristol-Myers Squibb in a $1.4 billion pension de-risking transaction with The Prudential.
• Represented Wells Fargo Insurance in the sale of 42 of its regional insurance brokerage and consulting locations to USI Insurance Services.
• Represented Desjardins Group, the leading cooperative financial group in Canada, as US regulatory counsel in the acquisition of State Farm's Canadian insurance business.
• Represented Everest Re Group, Ltd. In the launch of its $370 million sidecar, Mt. Logan Re, Ltd.
• Represented SeaBright Holdings, Inc., a publicly traded workers' compensation insurer, in its $252 million buyout by Bermuda-based run-off specialist, Enstar Group Limited.
• Represented Assured Guaranty, Ltd. in the acquisition of Municipal and Infrastructure Assurance Corporation, a financial guaranty insurer.
• Represented Home Warranty of America, as special insurance regulatory counsel, in its acquisition by Direct Energy Marketing Limited, a leading supplier of electricity, natural gas and related services in North America.
• Represented Everest Reinsurance Holdings in the acquisition of Heartland Crop Insurance, Inc., a specialty underwriter of crop insurance.
• Represented ACE American Insurance Company, a subsidiary of ACE Limited, in its $1.1 billion acquisition of the remaining 80% of Rain and Hail Insurance Service, Inc., the second largest crop insurance underwriter in the United States.
• Represented Guggenheim Life & Annuity Company in its acquisition of $1.7 billion of policies and related assets from Standard Life Insurance Company of Indiana, as a part of Standard Life's ongoing, court-supervised reorganization.
• Represented Assured Guaranty Corp. in the acquisition of the US public finance business of CIFG Assurance North America, Inc.
• Represented OneBeacon Insurance Group Ltd., a Boston-based, Bermuda-domiciled insurance holding company, on its agreement to sell its personal lines insurance business to Tower Group, Inc.
• Represented Assured Guaranty, Ltd. in the $722 million acquisition of the financial guaranty insurance business of Financial Security Assurance Holdings Ltd.
• Represented ACE Limited in the $2.4 billion purchase of Combined Insurance Company of America.
• Represented UnitedHealth Group Incorporated in the sale of the $1.8 billion life and annuity business of its Golden Rule subsidiary to OneAmerica Financial Partners, Inc.
• Represented Everest Re Group, Ltd. in connection with its migration to Bermuda and all of its subsequent public offerings of stock, debt and hybrid securities.
• Represented CNA Financial Corporation in the sale of its personal lines business to Allstate, the sale of its individual life insurance business to Swiss Re, the sale of its group benefits business to Hartford Life and the sale of its third-party claims administration business to Cunningham Lindsey US Inc.
• Represented Nestlé in the acquisition of Gerber Life Insurance Company from Novartis.
• Represented Argo Group International Holdings Limited in the sale of its US reinsurance subsidiary, PXRE Reinsurance Company, to Tawa Group plc.
• Advised GMAC on the 2008 restructuring of its insurance division and on the insurance regulatory aspects of the 2006 $14 billion sale of a 51 percent stake to a consortium led by Cerberus Capital Management.
• Advised a major US life insurance company in creating a combination of corporate structures and service contracts for the performance of a variety of support services from India. This outsourcing project was one of the first of its kind and scale in the insurance industry.
• Represented Endurance Specialty Insurance Ltd. in its formation and in the organization and development of its business structure and governance.
• Represented LaSalle Re Limited in its business combination with Trenwick Group Inc. to form a new Bermuda-based company, Trenwick Group Ltd.
• Advised American Farm Bureau Federation regarding the reconfiguration of the capital structure and governance of American Agricultural Insurance Company.
• Advised major insurance broker clients regarding regulatory requirements and disclosure best practices relating to broker compensation.