Zenith Insurance Company
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryInsurance
Founded1949 (1949)
HeadquartersWoodland Hills, California
Key people
Kari L. Van Gundy
(Chair of the Board and CEO)

Davidson Pattiz
(President)
Number of employees
1466 (2014)[1]
ParentFairfax Financial
Websitewww.thezenith.com

Zenith Insurance Company is an American insurance company headquartered in California specializing in workers' compensation insurance. It has been an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Fairfax Financial since 2010.[2] Zenith operates nationally in the workers' compensation insurance business and conducts business through independent agencies and brokers.

History

Zenith National Insurance Corporation was established in 1949. In 1971, Zenith went public and was listed on the NASDAQ stock market.[3] In 1978, Stanley Zax was hired as Zenith's chief executive officer.[4] In 1987, the company was listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol ZNT.[5]

In 2010, Fairfax Financial agreed to buy Zenith in a deal that valued the company at around $1.3 billion US.[2][6] The deal was negotiated by Fairfax CEO Prem Watsa.[4] A group of Zenith shareholders sought to prevent the sale by going to court, but a court dismissed their claims on April 22, 2010.[4] The combined company became seventh-largest workers’ compensation insurer in California.[5]

In 2015, the company was part of a settlement with the city of San Mateo arising from the collapse of Lehman Brothers.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Fairfax - Insurance". Fairfax. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Fairfax to buy all of Zenith". The Canadian Press. Toronto Star. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  3. ↑ "Form 10K - ZENITH NATIONAL INSURANCE CORP". Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  4. 1 2 3 Feeley, Jef (22 April 2010). "Zenith National Investors Lose Bid to Halt Buyout". Bloomberg. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Zenith Merger Will Make Fairfax 7th Largest Workers' Comp Writer in Calif". Insurance Journal. February 19, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Fairfax to Buy Zenith National for $1.3 Billion". New York Times. 18 February 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "County reaches $6.5M settlement with Lehman Brothers auditors". San Mateo Daily Journal. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
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