Kansas City insurance firm Miller Group is moving to Overland Park [The Kansas City Star]

Aug. 15--The Miller Group, which describes itself as one of Kansas City's largest locally owned full-service insurance and employee benefit firms, is crossing the border to Overland Park with the help of Kansas incentives.

The firm and its 50 employees are leaving its current headquarters at 373 W. 101st Terrace in Kansas City and moving to 6363 College Blvd., completing the move by late next month. Thirty more people are expected to be hired over the next five years.

CEO Sean Miller said the move is needed to accommodate future growth. The Miller Group is leasing 18,000 square feet in its new space, about double its current quarters.

"We've been crowded in our current space for some time," Miller said in a statement. "Our steady client growth over the last several years requires additional investment in technology, facilities and people. While we've had a good run at this location, the time is right for us to make a move."

The Miller Group has been offered undisclosed incentives from Kansas as part of its relocation. As a new firm to the state, it would qualify for PEAK, a program that lets a firm keep 95 percent of its employees' state income taxes for up to seven years.

The firm also could qualify for a property tax exemption on new machinery, including computers and office equipment.

The Miller Group was founded in 1961 by Robert E. Miller. It specializes in providing commercial risk management insurance, employee benefits, human resources consulting, surety bonds and other services to the construction services industry and nonprofit sector.

The firm is the latest area company to move across the state line with the help of incentives in recent weeks.

Last month, MarketSphere Consulting LLC announced it was moving its 60 employees from downtown Kansas City to Corporate Woods in Overland Park. Freightquote opened its new headquarters in Kansas City after moving from Lenexa, a move that shifted 1,200 jobs.

The practice by both Missouri and Kansas of using incentives to lure companies across the state line, the so-called Border War, has been criticized by many because it depletes tax revenues and provides no net improvement to overall employment in the metropolitan area.

To reach Kevin Collison, call 816-234-4289 or send email to kcollison@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter at kckansascity.

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