Sentry Finalizes Viking Purchase

Sentry Insurance a Mutual Company announced that regulatory approvals have been received for the purchase of Viking Insurance from Royal & SunAlliance. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Sentry’s acquisition of Viking makes Sentry one of the country’s largest providers of auto insurance for drivers who find auto insurance difficult to afford or maintain.

The acquisition brings the following to the Sentry Insurance Group:

— 650 employees

— Offices in Madison, Wisc., Freeport, Ill., Englewood, Colo., Salem, Ore. Irvine, Calif. and Goldsboro, N.C.

— More than 7,900 professional independent agencies

— More than $425 million in premium

— Two new states – California and North Carolina — for Sentry’s Consumer Products insurance division

Viking was founded in 1971 in Madison, Wisc. and sells policies in 27 states.

Sentry is a major domestic mutual insurance group, with assets of more than $8.5 billion and policyholders’ surplus of $2.4 billion. Sentry and its subsidiaries offer a full line of property and casualty insurance, life insurance, retirement programs, employee benefits and related services to businesses and consumers throughout the U.S.