Fairfax to Acquire Seneca Insurance

Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. has made an agreement for its Crum & Forster subsidiary to acquire Sen-Tech International Holdings, the holding company of Seneca Insurance Co. for $65 million.

Seneca, headquartered in New York, will become a unit of Crum & Forster Insurance. In 1999, Seneca had net written premiums of $86.6 million and, at year end 1999, Sen-Tech had total assets of $169.6 million, shareholders’ equity of $56.9 million and approximately 120 employees.

The current management of Seneca has reduced the combined ratio of Seneca from 127 in 1989, when they joined, to under 100 over the last five years. In addition, Seneca has had consistently favorable reserve development since 1989. Crum & Forster plans to make the purchase with available cash.