A brief history
Becher + Carlson was formed in 1981 by William Becher and David Carlson, formerly senior officers of Risk Management, Inc., a division of Emmett & Chandler, Los Angeles. Risk Management, Inc. was at the forefront of the captive and alternative risk movement which began in the mid 1970’s. Becher + Carlson’s vision was to provide closely integrated risk management consulting, statistical, analytic, finance/tax services, captive management and insurance/ reinsurance brokerage services exclusively to large commercial risks or groups.
Becher + Carlson remained an independent company until December 1989 at which time it was acquired by American Re-Insurance Company, one of the top providers of property and casualty reinsurance. Under American Re’s ownership, Becher + Carlson continued to thrive, evolving into a leading provider of captive management, casualty and property brokerage and alternative risk services to the Fortune 1000. Following American Re’s decision in 2003 to divest itself of the company, key employees purchased the company in November 2003. Their vision: to leverage its strengths and capabilities as the platform from which to grow into a world-class brokerage and alternative risk firm.
In July 2004, after the purchase from American Re, the newly-named Beecher Carlson announced a $90 million capital commitment from private equity sources led by Austin Ventures.
Since becoming Beecher Carlson, the organization has undergone significant growth. Through key acquisitions and strong organic growth, Beecher Carlson has grown from a rank of 66th on Business Insurance Top 100 list in 2006 to a rank of 21st in 2010. This is quite an accomplishment over a mere 4 years.
