Houston’s HCC Insurance Holdings said Pioneer General Insurance Co. will merge into American Contractors Indemnity Co., both of which are wholly owned subsidiaries of HCC.

A Philadelphia-area property-casualty company that writes policies for niche markets nationally has formed a strategic alliance with two Washington, D.C.-based insurance companies.

A York, Pa.-based risk management and insurance company has acquired Construction Bonds, a Virginia-based company that gives it access to the entire Mid-Atlantic region.

USI Insurance Services has completed an acquisition of some property-casualty companies that will allow it to expand its presence in Long Island, Rockland County and the Hudson Valley, as well as Northern New Jersey, company officials said.

Virginia insurance regulators shut down a Newport News, Va., insurance agent and two companies and fined them a total of $280,000 for illegal sales of surety bonds for public works projects in the Tidewater region of the state.

An insurance agents’ group in Virginia is asking its members to press the Virginia Senate’s General Laws Committee to vote against an increase in the surety bond rates for state projects that it says “doesn’t make sense.”

Alliant Insurance Services, a national specialty insurance brokerage firm, bought T&H Group, a regional full-service insurance brokerage firm based in New York City.

A New Jersey-based property-casualty insurance wholesaler, FTP, acquired Kenneth B. Shevlin, another wholesaler brokerage firm.

Integrated Insurance Solution acquired Tango Insurance so it can break into the growing Spanish insurance market.

An insurance agent and two companies are accused of selling surety insurance in Virginia without being licensed, according to state records.