Insurance Care Direct Hires a Company Buyer

Insurance Care Direct has brought in Mark Peterson to help it acquire other companies.

The Deerfield Beach, Florida-based life and health agency has named Peterson director of mergers and acquisitions.

Mark Peterson will work under David Corsaut, the company's chief strategy officer.

He "will support industry-focused acquisitions and overall market development," Insurance Care Direct said in the announcement of Peterson's hiring.

Insurance Care Direct said that it wants to expand its market share, but it did not say whether it prefers to buy big companies, small companies or midsize companies.

Mark Peterson

Peterson has a bachelor's degree in economics from Colorado College. He got his start as an investment banker at the Chicago Corp., and he later helped start a financial services sector investment banking business in the Chicago area for Raymond James & Associates Inc.

Peterson helped insurance sector clients there raise $42 billion.

He also helped advise both buyers and sellers on business sales.

Insurance Care Direct

Insurance Care Direct was founded in 2001 by Seth Cohen, Arnold Cohen and Brad Cohen, along with partner Luis Silvestre.

The company is still family-owned.

In May, the company hired Ben Nelson to be its chief executive officer.

Nelson previously had been governor of Nebraska, a U.S. senator from Nebraska, and chief executive officer of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

The company has also hired John Doak, who was the Oklahoma insurance commissioner, and Christa Rapoport, who has been the senior vice president for regulatory strategy and compliance at Nelson, Taplin, Goldwater.

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