Penn. Regulators Approve Pending Sale of Clal’s U.S. Unit to Berkshire

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department this week approved the pending deal by Israel’s Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings to sell its U.S. unit to Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s National Indemnity Co.

The deal to sell off Clal’s U.S. unit — Clal U.S. Holdings Inc. — to National Indemnity Co. for $221 million was announced last August.

Clal U.S. Holdings Inc., based in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., owns GUARD Insurance Group, which Clal purchased in 2007 for $120 million. GUARD Insurance Group offers small- to medium-sized commercial property and casualty accounts, with over $300 million in direct written premium as of year-end 2011.

The full decision and order, issued by Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Michael Consedine on Oct. 22, can be found on the insurance department’s website.