TOKYO — Japanese insurance group Sompo Holdings will acquire a major American provider of crop insurance as demand rises for protection against losses from extreme weather events on a warming planet.
Sompo International will spend 40 billion yen to 50 billion yen ($376 million to $470 million) to buy Diversified Crop Insurance Services, an arm of grain transporter CGB Enterprises. The U.S. company commands the fourth-largest share of the American market, with its crop insurance coverage focused on the Midwest.
Add in sixth-ranked ARMtech, a Sompo subsidiary with strength in the South, and the Japanese casualty-underwriting group will have more than $2 billion in gross written premiums for a 17.5% share of the U.S. market, creating one of the sector’s largest insurance providers.
Crop insurance provides policyholders coverage against the loss of crops to natural disasters or the…