Ga. Dept. Approves Cotton States Insurance

The Georgia Department of Insurance approved this week the proposed merger of Cotton States Life Insurance Company with a subsidiary of COUNTRY Life Insurance Company, and the affiliation of Cotton States Mutual Insurance Company and its subsidiary, Shield Insurance Company, with the property/casualty insurance group of COUNTRY.

In addition to the Georgia Insurance Department’s approval, Cotton States Life Insurance Company shareholders approved the merger with COUNTRY(R) in late October 2004. Under the Agreement and Plan of Merger, Cotton States Life Insurance shareholders will receive $20.25 cash for each share of outstanding common stock of Cotton States Life Insurance Company upon consummation of the merger. As a result, Cotton States Life Insurance Company will become a privately held company.

The transactions are currently under review in Connecticut and Illinois and will be consummated upon receiving approvals from these regulatory authorities, as well as the satisfaction of the other conditions to closing set forth in the transaction documents. It is anticipated that the transactions with COUNTRY will close in early January 2005, if all such approvals are received and conditions satisfied.

COUNTRY(R) Insurance & Financial Services and its alliances serve about one million households and businesses throughout the United States. Founded in 1925, the group now has nearly 2,000 exclusive agents in 14 Midwestern and Western states who offer a full range of property/casualty, life and annuity products, as well as financial and estate planning services.

Through alliances, affiliations and relationships with independent agents, their geographic reach spans across the United States. The COUNTRY property/casualty pool includes COUNTRY Mutual Insurance Company, Bloomington, Ill.; Middlesex Mutual Assurance Company, Middletown, Conn.; Holyoke Mutual Insurance Company in Salem, Salem, Mass.; and MSI Insurance Companies, Arden Hills, Minn. The COUNTRY insurance companies have nearly $1.5 billion of property/casualty premium.

Topics Carriers Georgia Property Casualty