Sentry finalizes $200M deal for Viking Insurance

Sentry Insurance has finalized its purchase of Viking Insurance, a Madison provider of specialty automobile insurance.



Sentry purchased Viking Insurance from the Royal & SunAlliance Insurance Group plc, London. Sentry did not disclose terms of the deal, but Royal & SunAlliance said July 29 that Viking was being sold by its U.S. operations based in Charlotte, N.C., for $200 million in cash.



The deal includes all nonstandard auto business written by Viking Insurance Co. of Wisconsin, Peak Property and Casualty Insurance Corp., Viking County Mutual Insurance Co. and Guaranty National Insurance Co.



Viking sells insurance in 27 states, including states where Sentry does not currently sell auto insurance. The deal will add 650 employees to Sentry, along with offices in Madison; Freeport, Ill.; Englewood, Colo.; Salem, Ore.; Irvine, Calif.; and Goldsboro, N.C.



Stevens Point-based Sentry said the deal will double the size of its presence in the specialty auto insurance market. Sentry writes specialty automobile insurance through three subsidiaries -- Dairyland Insurance, Dairyland County Mutual Insurance Company of Texas and Patriot General.



Viking adds more than $425 million in premium revenue, more than 7,900 independent agencies and two new states -- California and North Carolina -- to Sentry's coverage area.



With about 3,800 employees nationwide, Sentry Insurance is a national insurer providing property, casualty and life insurance products. The company's assets total more than $8.5 billion, and it has policyholders' surplus of $2.4 billion.



Viking was founded in 1971 and has been owned by Royal & SunAlliance since 1999. The company wrote direct premiums of more than $400 million in 2004, selling its auto policies through 7,900 independent agencies and brokers in 27 states.