Zenith Insurance Company
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Insurance |
| Founded | 1949 |
| Headquarters | California , United States |
Area served | Nationwide (United States) |
Key people | Stanley Zax (former CEO), Prem Watsa (CEO of parent company) |
| Products | Workers' compensation insurance |
| Parent | Fairfax Financial |
Zenith Insurance Company is an American insurer headquartered in California, focusing primarily on workers' compensation coverage. Since 2010, it has functioned as a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of the Canadian firm Fairfax Financial. Zenith delivers its services nationwide through a network of independent brokers and agencies.
History
The company was established in 1949 under the name Zenith National Insurance Corporation and entered the public market in 1971 via the NASDAQ. Stanley Zax assumed the role of CEO in 1978. By 1987, Zenith secured a listing on the NYSE with the ticker symbol ZNT.
Fairfax Financial completed the acquisition of Zenith in 2010 for roughly $1.3 billion USD, with Fairfax’s CEO, Prem Watsa, spearheading the transaction. Although some shareholders opposed the deal, it proceeded successfully, making the combined organization the seventh-largest provider of workers’ compensation insurance in California.
In 2015, Zenith reached a settlement with San Mateo concerning matters related to the collapse of Lehman Brothers.