National Reinsurance Boosts Stake in Unico

National Reinsurance Corp. of Stamford, Conn., this month boosted to 7.3% its stake in Unico American Corp., a Woodland Hills-based insurance holding company whose Crusader Insurance Co. subsidiary was hurt by $21 million in claims from the Los Angeles riots.

According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, National Reinsurance received 144,092 shares of Unico’s common stock on Jan. 15 in lieu of partial repayment of $1 million that National Reinsurance loaned to Unico last June. The shares were valued at $3.47 each, according to the filing. With 288,000 Unico shares that National Reinsurance acquired last summer, the big reinsurance firm now has 432,092 common shares of Unico.