Delaware Firm to Assume Assets of Mission American

The assets of insolvent Mission American Insurance will be transferred to a Delaware-based insurance firm in exchange for stock under an agreement announced Thursday by California insurance officials.

National American Insurance Co. of California--a subsidiary of Kramer Capital Partners and KCP Holding, a Delaware corporation--will absorb Mission American’s assets in return for KCP stock. The stock will eventually be distributed to bondholders, creditors and shareholders of Mission American, which was taken over by the state last February.

National American had already agreed to renew Mission American policies that expired June 1. Mission specialized in writing workers’ compensation policies principally in the West and Southwest.

State Insurance Commissioner Roxani Gillespie said the agreement is part of a three-stage effort to salvage Mission American, the sole survivor of once-flourishing Mission Insurance Group, headquartered in Los Angeles. The first step was assigning Mission’s policies to National American. The second step, now under way, is an audit that will determine the value of Mission Insurance assets sometime before Nov. 1, Gillespie said.

The last step will take place when National American trades its stock for Mission’s assets.