SUNZ Chief Executive Says Acquisition of Brentwood National Step in Plan to Expand Reach

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January 15, 2010 Friday 02:15 PM EST

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SUNZ Chief Executive Says Acquisition of Brentwood National Step in Plan to Expand Reach

Lori Chordas

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.

SUNZ Insurance Co. said it acquired Brentwood National Insurance Co. of Brentwood, Tenn.

Closing on the acquisition was completed on Dec. 30, 2009, said SUNZ President and Chief Executive Officer Doug Lilak.

St. Petersburg, Fla.-based SUNZ provides workers' compensation coverage to professional employer organizations and staffing companies.

It is in the process of finalizing rate approval in the state jurisdictions that have been acquired through Brentwood National. Once complete, the expansion will focus primarily on the Southeast region of the United States and will give SUNZ the opportunity to write policies in 12 more states.

"Expansion beyond Florida has been our intention since we started the company in 2005," Lilak told BestWire. "This is the first step of that expansion. We intend to eventually be in all states east of the Rockies and maybe a few to the West."

Lilak said the expansion is possible due to its partnership with private equity investment firm Palm Beach Capital, which partners with management teams in middle-market buy-outs, recapitalizations and growth equity investments.

In 2008, SUNZ Insurance Co. reported more than $4 million in direct premiums written, down from $5 million in 2007, according to BestLink. Its 2008 reported total admitted assets totaled more than $24 million.

Brentwood National is a workers' compensation insurance carrier to industries such as manufacturing and health care, and is licensed in Tennessee, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi and Montana, according to BestLink. It was incorporated in 1986 as a Tennessee captive property/casualty insurer under the title Century American Insurance Co.

Lilak said Brentwood was owned by "an individual that owns and operates a large TPA. He acquired the company a few years ago thinking he would expand his business to writing workers' comp but didn't do that. The ownership of the company did not fit his needs but had the states we really wanted for our first expansion, which were the Gulf Coast and the Southeast U.S. It was just a very good fit."

He added that in order for SUNZ to maintain the license, "we merged into it, then acquired it and changed the name back to SUNZ and redomesticated back to Florida. So we are now again a Florida-domiciled company still called SUNZ Insurance Co."

"From inception, our focus has been on the client," said Lilak. "When we provide specialized services and work with each client on an individualized plan that best fits their needs, we reduce the risk of disappointment, which in turn, benefits us all."

Despite the recession, SUNZ continues to grow its business and expand into new markets.

The company said it expects the expansion "to prove beneficial for all parties involved by providing optimal services to existing clients, continuing to allow the company to focus their support of PEO's on a local level as well as the national level, and welcoming a huge opportunity for growth."

(By Lori Chordas, senior associate editor, Best's Review: [email protected])

January 16, 2010

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