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Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance said it has agreed to purchase the assets of MyAssist Inc., a live-agent personal concierge and telematics service provider, and Insure America LLC, a niche program administrator that provides insurance products to the travel industry, from Noel Group.

The announcement said John Noel, founder, chairman and CEO of Noel Group, will continue to head the MyAssist and Insure America operations and focus on growing these businesses globally.

Peter Eastwood, president of Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, said the two firms will help his company extend its brand and create new business opportunities.

“We are approaching potential acquisitions strategically and thoughtfully as we build our business for the long term,” Eastwood said. “We believe MyAssist’s list of customers speaks volumes about the appeal of its products and the quality of its services.”

Eastwood said corporate customers of MyAssist include Ford Motor Co., Mercedes-Benz USA, Verizon Telematics and other prominent travel and insurance companies. MyAssist provides the owners of these vehicles with in-car support.

Boston-based Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance provides commercial property, casualty, healthcare liability, executive and professional lines insurance and programs in the U.S. It underwrites on the paper of Berkshire Hathaway’s National Indemnity group of companies.

In addition to MyAssist and Insure America, Noel Group owns Compass Properties, a real-estate investment company. Noel Group is based in Stevens Point, Wisconsin and also has operations in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Noel sold travel insurer Travel Guard International to American International Group (AIG) in 2006. In 2008, Noel sold MultiNational Underwriters to HCC Insurance Holdings and it was renamed HCC Medical Insurance Services.

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Excess Surplus